Quinn resolute on Junior Cert reform

SEANAD REPORT:STRESSING THE need for reform of the Junior Cert, Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn said that unless the exam changed, nothing else would.

That was why he was determined that assessment reform must be an integral part of planned reforms, if there was to be real change in teaching and learning and in the student experience.

“There has been considerable concern in recent years about rote learning and the examination system has been widely criticised as focusing on recall rather than on critical skills. The assessment reforms in the Junior Certificate must be designed to address these issues, with students being asked to demonstrate their understanding and competences.”

Higher education and industry interests had indicated that students were not acquiring the skills they needed to be autonomous learners and to cope with the demands of the knowledge society.

The subject reforms would begin on a phased basis in 2014 for first examination in 2017.

The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland was opposed to assessing students for examination purposes. “They are not being obstructionist,” Mr Quinn said.

“They have genuine concerns and I hope to work with them to see if we can find ways to alleviate that.”

Opposition leader Darragh O’Brien (FF) asked when was the Government going to withdraw the nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors.

How someone who presided over €3.6 billion being unaccounted for in the Department of Finance could be nominated “is beyond belief”. When was the Government planning to withdraw the nomination to avert the embarrassment that would be brought should the nominee be put in front of an interview panel in Europe?

The Government should look elsewhere or look at extending the appointment of the present Irish member of the court who had been doing a superb job, Mr O’Brien added.

The closure of the Irish Embassy to the Vatican seemed to have been done on the whim of one person, Feargal Quinn (Ind) said. He agreed with other members who had called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to set out to the Seanad a principled agenda for closing embassies.