Third-level bosses seek to reform the system

SHORTER Leaving Certificate courses and more continuous assessment may be one suggestion from third-level bosses as a way to reduce the pressures of one-off exams facing Leaving Certificate students scrambling to score top points for college.

As calls widen for reform of the senior cycle — and following a request for proposals from Education Minister Ruairí Quinn — the Irish Universities Association is putting together ideas on easing the points race.

The group of university leaders, led by NUI Maynooth Professor Tom Collins, who also chairs the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, is working on recommendations to reform the points system.