Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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307. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when she last met with an association (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36186/21]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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308. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she has taken since October 2020 to address the concerns of an association (details supplied) regarding the new syllabus for agricultural science; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36187/21]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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309. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to issues with the leaving certificate agricultural science syllabus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36188/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 307 to 309, inclusive, together.

Officials from my Department met with the Irish Agricultural Science Teachers Association ( IASTA) in January of this year.

Following this, IASTA attended a meeting on 16 February 2021 of an 'Agricultural Science in Practice Group' convened by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). Also in attendance were officials from the NCCA, the Department of Education, The Professional Development Service for Teachers, the Teachers Union of Ireland, the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland and co-opted teachers . The purpose of the 'Agricultural Science in Practice Group' is to be a forum that can be used to generate and collate early insights and authentic examples from practice of Agricultural Science as it is enacted in classrooms, and to publish these in an NCCA document.

I understand that the IASTA raised concerns regarding the Individual Investigative Study section of the Leaving Certificate at the above mentioned meetings and with the State Examinations Commission. I also understand that the IASTA wished to have the coursework element of the assessment process cancelled or made optional. If this request had been acceded to, it would have raised very significant issues of equity and fairness, not only in this subject but in other subjects where there was a coursework requirement in the final assessment.