Significant fall in uptake of Leaving Cert Applied

Cutbacks in staff may have caused a significant drop in numbers taking up the Leaving Certificate Applied this year, teachers say.

Compared to 3,228 in 2012, the number of students taking the LCA programme was down 13% to 2,805.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland president Gerard Craughwell, said the figures pointed to the possibility that some schools may have had to drop the programme as a direct result of cuts.

“It is worrying that an important alternative pathway for students to gain a second-level qualification is reducing. TUI is concerned that, as a result of the increased pupil-teacher ratios and other cuts, some schools may have been forced to stop their LCA programme.”

LCA students do not sit the traditional Leaving Certificate examinations but receive a single award based on their two years of accumulated credits.

The award is given at three levels: Distinction is 85% to 100%, merit is 70% to 84%, and pass is 60% to 69%. Although the LCA cannot be used towards CAO college entry, it can be used to access post-Leaving Certificate courses and keeps thousands of students in school who might otherwise leave the education system.

Mr Craughwell said the fall in students taking up the programme is “particularly concerning given a recent OECD report that showed countries with relatively high numbers of second- level graduates from vocationally oriented education programmes have lower levels of youth unemployment by comparison with countries such as Ireland”.

“Consideration should, therefore, be given to how the Irish education system might best meet the needs of students and to ensuring that schools have an appropriate suite of subjects to cater for the interests and talents of all students, including those with the ambition of entering the labour market or under-taking an apprenticeship.”

A Department of Education spokesperson said there was only a very slight fall in the number of schools offering LCA in the past number of years. In 2008, 296 schools ran the programme but it has fallen each year since and is now down to 282 — a reduction of nearly 5%.

The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme has also seen a continued drop in uptake down to 15,671 from 15,848 in 2012 and 16,394 in 2011.

The programme combines traditional subjects with practical modules. Unlike the LCA, students can count the points from modules as one of their six Leaving Cert subjects.