Teachers to seek more pay if changes approved

TEACHERS will seek extra pay and strict conditions if a Leaving Certificate based on greater continuous assessment is introduced by the Government.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey hinted this week that he may seek a review of the exam system, possibly extending it to a three-year programme. He also said a model of more assessment and less emphasis on the written exam might be more favourable for students.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) is open to such changes, but only under a number of conditions for their members.

“Teachers will have to be trained to do the assessment work of their own students, and we don’t want this to happen without external monitoring,” said TUI president Derek Dunne.

“We would also be seeking additional time to do the work and payment for the extra workload. We have made these points whenever this was talked about before and our position hasn’t changed,” Mr Dunne said.

He said a number of new subject courses involve project work and the bigger picture should be kept in mind to ensure students were not overloaded.

The larger Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), representing 80% of second level teachers, has traditionally been less open to the introduction of a continuous assessment model.

Mr Dempsey said this week that changes to the Leaving Certificate might encourage potential early school leavers to remain in formal education.

While he has not undertaken any formal review at this stage, he made clear that examining the issue would be a priority in the next year.

The Union of Secondary Students welcomed the idea of a reviewing the system, but warned against any danger of losing the transition year option available in most schools.