System change ‘could add to student pressure’

THE replacement of Leaving Certificate results with other methods to determine points for college entry could add to the pressure on school-leavers instead of easing it, Institute of Guidance Counsellors president Eilis Coakley has claimed.

The points system has come under scrutiny in the past week as a leading academic and third-level boss suggested colleges should consider using other criteria in conjunction with school-leavers’ grades to select entrants for degree courses.

Professor Tom Collins, chair of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and interim president of National University of Ireland Maynooth, said demands for high grades force schools to focus on rote learning and means students begin college with little ability for self-directed learning. His views were echoed last week by Clive Byrne, director of the National Association for Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), but Tánaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan insisted that the points system based on Leaving Certificate results remains the fairest selection method despite the huge stress it causes for students.