Teachers express “serious concern” that certain Leaving Cert exam papers will be delayed until the end of the fifth year

Teachers have expressed “serious concern” about the timing of some final exams next year.

In a joint statement from the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), unions said the Department of Education “needs to act urgently to address teachers’ serious concerns”.

ASTI and TUI, together with the Irish and English trade bodies – An Gréasán and INOTE – have expressed their concerns about the postponement of Final Examination Paper 1 in English and Irish for pupils entering Year 5 in September this year, to the end of Year 5 year expressed .

The unions said they were “adamantly opposed to the plan” which they say is “flawed, pedagogically unsound and will increase stress among students”.

“The subject specifications for Irish and English have always been designed to be assessed in a pupil’s final year,” the statement said.

“The suggestions differ from possible suggestions in the NCCA Senior Cycle Review Advisory Report and are not consistent with current Irish and English professional specifications.

“The Ministry has not presented any pedagogical evidence to support the proposals.”

ASTI President Miriam Duggan said the union was “extremely concerned by this unilateral decision, which was taken without consulting teachers’ unions”.

Ms Duggan said this proposal “must be withdrawn before it causes stress for students”.

“The teachers’ training and experience in the classroom means they have a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t work for students,” she said.

“The Minister’s statement that the proposal is an ‘interim’ measure is a further cause for concern; it will not be a “midterm” for students completing the Leaving Cert during this phase.

“This is a prime example of change for the sake of change, with no regard for the unintended consequences for students.”

TUI President Liz Farrell said this decision would “particularly disadvantage” about 25 per cent of students who either do not have access to the transition year or choose not to take up the transition year option.

“Unions and professional bodies agree that this aspect of change is regressive and regressive and will only have a detrimental effect on students’ language acquisition,” she said.

“Given all the possible interventions that might be required of students and teachers, it is hard to believe that one of the first aspects of the ‘reform’ being introduced undermines the key tenets of the same process.”