Protests still likely over junior cycle changes

Further strikes or mass demonstrations at the Department of Education could be staged in the next school year if the junior cycle row remains un-resolved, a union leader has warned.

Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan is proceeding with disputed reforms despite ongoing industrial action by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI).

They have banned their 27,000 members from training or other activities linked to the changes, which include in-school assessment of second-year students in English by their own teachers next spring.