Leaving Cert maths overhaul faces further criticism as second expert resigns

Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin previously resigned from the group, saying the draft curricula produced to date “are littered with mathematical errors and inaccuracies”. Picture: Naoise Culhane

A second key member of the group tasked with redesigning the Leaving Cert maths curriculum resigned earlier this year over concerns about the proposals.

As previously reported by the Irish Examiner, Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin resigned from the group, saying the draft curricula produced to date “are littered with mathematical errors and inaccuracies”.

It has also emerged that Professor Pauline Mellon, emeritus professor of mathematics at the School of Mathematics and Statistics at University College Dublin, resigned from the group in January.

In a letter to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), seen by the Irish Examiner, Professor Mellon said content on the proposed higher-level curriculum had “been significantly hollowed out as so much material has been cut”.

“The proposed draft HL curriculum is now merely an extended Ordinary level curriculum. To use the principle of the Hippocratic Oath, ‘Do no harm’, this draft curriculum should not be progressed,” the letter said.

“If it, or a variant of it is adopted, it will significantly harm mathematics education and disadvantage the tens of thousands of students who will take it each year.”

Second resignation from maths curriculum group

Dr Ní Shuilleabháin, associate professor of mathematics education at DCU, said she resigned from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment's Mathematics Development Group last June as it was “no longer something I could be part of”.

In a social media post, Dr Ní Shuilleabháin said the curricula which had been produced to date and which are currently out for review “are not mathematically coherent in their structure”.

Asked to comment on Dr Ní Shuilleabháin's criticisms, a spokesperson for the NCCA said it is “considering the nature of expertise required on the development group” before making a decision on whether or not to fill the vacancy left by her resignation.

They added that the draft curricula recently published “are not final specifications”, adding that over the next three months the NCCA would be “inviting wide public engagement with the draft specifications which will help to identify areas requiring further work or refinement”.