Teachers ‘must ensure conformity on marking’

The resolution to a dispute with teachers about junior cycle reforms lies in ensuring the way teachers assess their students is the same in all schools, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan believes.

While she awaits the outcome of an Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (Asti) ballot which could up the ante by sanctioning strikes, Ms O’Sullivan is anxious to avoid public negotiations on the issue.

The main contention by Asti and Teachers’ Union of Ireland leaders is that their members should not have to mark their own students for the Junior Cycle Student Award.

Although they are on industrial action, refusing to take part in related training or schoolwork, more talks are scheduled in mid-October with Ms O’Sullivan following initial discussions earlier this month.

She told the Irish Examiner that teachers have genuine concerns around protecting trust in the system, and she will bear that in mind in her engagement with them.

Asked if she was open to changing the plans specifically on the question of who assesses students for the JCSA, she said she does not want to pre-empt the outcome of any discussions.

“We’ll certainly be looking at how moderation is done, so you can be satisfied that the system is the same; that the assessment is to be trusted as the same in each school,” she said.

“That’s an element of it, there may be other elements that they will bring to the table. But I do think that there is scope for us to reach agreement.”

The details of a proposal for moderation, in which schools would be led through a process that is seen to uphold standards and ensure fairness, were broadly welcomed by other stakeholders in a working group led by the Department of Education earlier this year.

The proposal was put forward by school management bodies, and similar models in other countries were also discussed at an education conference this week hosted by the Joint Managerial Body.

Ms O’Sullivan also strongly hinted that funding and staffing levels in schools are likely to remain unchanged next year for schools.

She also said she is conscious of the effect of funding cuts on the running of schools.