ASTI president 'hopes' schools will return this month

The government plan to stagger the return of students to schools later this month. Photo: File

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has said it is “hopeful” schools will return later this month.

The union's president, Ann Piggott, said due to the drop in Covid-19 cases, she hopes to see students return to school on a staggered basis.

“If the numbers are going down, we have a starting point,” she said. 

The Cabinet Sub-Committee on education is set to meet later today to discuss the reopening of schools.

On Leaving Cert examinations, the ASTI president said ideally she sees the state exam going forward later this year. 

“We favour the traditional written exam. That would be our preference," she said.

“We would like to see modified papers to a point that it would be doable and wouldn’t cause students too much anxiety.” 

Ms Piggott said the government must let students know if oral examinations are to go ahead, and how the exam would be carried out.

“Students have been preparing for their orals through remote learning - there’s still a possibility it could happen through perspex screens in schools or online," she told Newstalk.

The government announced last month that it plans on staggering the return of students to schools later this month.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, the Taoiseach said: "Schools are our number one priority. Special needs schools first, we're going to have to deal with the Leaving Certificate and respond comprehensively to the anxieties that students have, and then a phased return of schools, beginning at primary level.”