Unions to consider junior cycle plan

Proposals that could bring an end to ongoing industrial action at schools over junior cycle reforms will be put to teacher union executives next Friday.

During six hours of talks yesterday, leaders of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) were provided with clarification of aspects of the proposed agreement put forward a week ago.

They were set out by Pauric Travers in relation to his compromise proposal, which unions had said last week had some elements they could not agree to. Further clarifications are likely to be issued in the coming days for ultimate decision next week.

It is unclear if the ASTI standing committee and TUI executive will have the authority to accept or reject the final document at their joint meeting, or whether they would have to ballot their 27,000 members.

But Mr Travers has extended his deadline for decisions by the unions and the Department of Education until next Friday for now.

Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan had said last week she was willing to accept his plan, and was represented by department officials at yesterday’s talks.

The plan includes a provision that, while coursework in second and third years would still be marked by students’ own teachers, it would not be for state certification.

Instead, the marks would be combined with results from final written Junior Certificate exams corrected by the State Examinations Commission in a Profile of Junior Cycle Achievement.

This profile would also signify achievement on any optional short courses taken by a student, and in extra-curricular activities.

In return for this compromise, the independent talks chairman suggested that the unions would immediately suspend industrial action. They have sanctioned a third day of strikes but have not yet decided on what date, if any, it should take place.

But the minister was also recommended to delay by a year, until September 2016, the introduction of a new course in science. It is the second subject for which the reforms would take effect, with a new English curriculum already being taught to current first-year students.

The unions have been on industrial action since last April, including two strikes in December and last month, when members withdrew from training, meetings and other activities related to the reform proposals.