Quinn pushes on with Junior Cert reform despite protests

The planned replacement of the Junior Certificate with a system which will see teachers marking their own students is being pushed ahead by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.

This is despite a protest at schools today and an impending vote by 27,000 secondary teachers against co-operation with the plan.

Mr Quinn has issued a letter to the country’s 730 second-level schools setting out the arrangements for the introduction of the Junior Cycle Student Award from next September, when first year students are to be prepared for assessment in English from 2016 as the first subject to undergo changes for certification in 2017.