Junior Cert exams may be halved

THE number of exams that students would be required to sit for their Junior Certificate could be halved under one of the changes being considered in a review of the three-year cycle for younger students.

However, it is unlikely that the exam process would be scrapped entirely in an effort to save the estimated annual €30 million cost, as weekend reports had suggested. The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) said abolishing the exam would be counter-productive and would lower standards among Irish students.

The junior cycle review ordered by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe last June follows a study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) which highlighted the negative effects on teenagers of the workload associated with the Junior Certificate, still largely seen as a practice run for the Leaving Certificate.