Teachers' Conferences: Minister told dispute will continue if she implements Junior Cert reform

The dispute with Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan over Junior Cert reform will continue into 2016, if she implements her proposals without teacher agreement, the leader of the secondary teachers’ union warned.

Association of Secondary Teachers president Philip Irwin also said the ASTI, along with the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, is organising a national lunchtime protest of 27,000 second-level teachers at the end of this month.

He said, a year ago, ASTI had presented Ms O’Sullivan’s predecessor, Ruairi Quinn, with a petition of 10,000 teachers asking that he affirm the role of teachers as advocates on behalf of their students and supporting the retention of external assessment.