The replacement of the Junior Certificate by schools assessing their own students will bring major benefits, says the head of the organisation leading the changes.

The body which designed the Project Maths syllabus says it will take on board the concerns of teachers about its length and suitability.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn unveiled the most radical shake-up of the Junior Certificate in a generation by outlining how the “high stakes exam” will be scrapped by 2017.

East Cork is getting a flavour of the Far East as students are becoming proficient in Chinese.

JUST six written exams worth 60% of total marks, points for extracurricular activities and a course for students with special needs are among the options for the qualification to replace the Junior Certificate.

PARENTS and the public, generally, must accept the Leaving Certificate has to challenge students rather than react angrily to difficult exam papers, says the head of the agency that will lead its overhaul.

EDUCATION services may have to be severely cut as a result of the Croke Park deal’s protection of public service wages, Green Party TD Paul Gogarty has warned.

THE points system remains the fairest way to determine college entry and does not need to be reformed, according to Education Minister Mary Coughlan.

A MAJOR initiative to improve maths results appears to be moving grades in the right direction.

ALMOST half of those who teach maths in secondary schools have no qualification in teaching the subject, a study has found.

BATT O’KEEFFE helped students discover the fun side of maths when he launched a new course aimed at boosting interest in the subject.

A DEDICATED teacher training college for those seeking work in all-Irish schools has been proposed as part of a review of teaching of the language.

REVISED guidelines are due to be sent to gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools on the teaching of English within months, following a review by Education Minister Mary Hanafin’s curriculum advisers.

STUDENTS will be encouraged to aim for higher level Leaving Certificate maths from their first days in second-level school, under proposals to radically reform how the subject is taught.

THE views of children as young as 10 are being sought in a major review of language and literacy in all-Irish primary schools.

THE Government’s chief educational advisers have seriously questioned the commitment of Education Minister Mary Hanafin to changing and modernising the Leaving Certificate curriculum.

Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

QUALITY education is in danger of becoming a consumer commodity instead of a public right, the head of the body reviewing the Leaving Certificate warned yesterday.