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Updated at 9.13am
A GROUP REPRESENTING some second level students has issued an 11th hour appeal to teachers, as pickets begin at schools around the country.
Members of the ASTI and the TUI are striking today, after the latest round of talks aimed at ended the long-running dispute over Junior Cycle reform collapsed last week.
“I respect the teacher unions and their concerns in relation to the Junior Certificate reforms. However, as a Leaving Certificate student I am only ten days away from sitting my mock exams,” Irish Second-Level Students’ Union Education Officer Joanna Siewierska said in a statement.
This second day of strike action is disrupting mine and my fellow students’ education at a very crucial and important point in time.
“It is adding unnecessary confusion to the JCSA discussion and it is equally unfair to all students in second-level school.
“The closing of secondary schools needs to stop.
Again, we respectfully ask teachers to return to talks with the Minister for Education and Skills.
Teachers
In a joint statement this morning, the ASTI and TUI reiterated that they are willing to engage in talks without preconditions in a bid to resolve the dispute.
Teachers had “no option” but to proceed with today’s action, the statement said.
“We already have an independent, objective, transparent and rigorous State examinations model which maintains public trust, and teachers fully support a move away from an excessive reliance on final written examinations.
“However, we believe that the introduction of school-based assessment for certification poses a serious threat to the credibility of the examination process,” TUI President Gerry Quinn said.
ASTI President Philip Irwin said there were “serious and justified concerns over the capacity and school and system level to deal with the current proposals”.
Union bosses will meet in the coming weeks to consider further industrial action.
The changes
Under the new proposals, teachers would be required to grade 40 per cent of their students’ work internally. It had initially been proposed that teachers mark 100 per cent of their students’ exam work.
The changes have been defended by the Department of Education as giving pupils a more balanced educational experience that places less emphasis on an end of course examination.
Some 27,000 teachers also went on strike last month over the issue — resulting in a day off school for around 330,000 students.
Speaking to RTÉ News yesterday, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan said teachers assessing their students at exam-level was “practised widely” abroad.
The [union] leadership needs to go back and look at why they are so entrenched in their view and cannot move at all.
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Great to hear that small to medium firms could deliver 20,000 jobs however these small companies need to be paid on time for the services they provide and until legislation is in place to protect them the 20,000 jobs will be lost instead of created.
Spin the year out……could , should, would………
3 point plan . Every bit as good as the Famous 5 point plan .
Yet you let the council increase rates by 100% which is closing down loads of business and creating mass losses in jobs then Kenny the coward ignores his promise to remove upwardly only rents. Why do people put up with these liars. Pure s.c.u.m
Best not to hold one’s breath on job creation. This government is already the worst in living memory -YES- and that includes the last one. They have broken every commitment, displayed unseemly incompetence and cowardice and are devoid of any leadership qualities. They are now pussyfooting with the next €3billion promissory note payment due in February. Taoiseach Kenny is a laughing stock all over Europe. Does anyone really believe the economy will grow and create jobs under this government. The SFA is just a lapdog for IBEC. It should break away from its powerful masters and begin to see the wood from the trees. It’s very masters in IBEC have driven Ireland’s cost base into the stratosphere not to mention its role in the banking collapse – the two principle impediments to job creation. Get a life SFA.
20,000 jobs possibly(these people seldom do pessimistic forecasting).
80-100k emigrating, no figures for increasing disemployment due to austerity, and half a million already wasting away on breadlines to soupkitchens.
This is the ‘government’s’ economic plan?
They could but will they very very unlikely with austerity at the heart of irish policy. Just more BS from government.
The domestic economy is in ruins. If you disagree you are either a blue shirt or in denial. I want this country to escape the gloom but lets be honest so far we are not doing a good job of it.
Well I think these guys should take a walk down any street in the country and see the state of retail Ireland not to mention the business parks etc. it’s not a pretty sight, I genuinely fear for the future of Ireland as one of our every growing population of ex pats…
Would it not be quicker to get DPD to deliver the jobs rather than waiting for these small businesses to get set up .. Surely DPD know the best routes by now …. Eh oh right
I do apologise for my apparent lack of humour … Or do 21 people work for fastway maybe …
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