Junior cycle reform rejected - ASTI decision disappointing

IT is very disappointing that the country’s largest second-level teachers’ union, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has rejected proposals on junior cycle reform reached after long and difficult negotiations, negotiations marked by considerable compromise on both sides.

The ASTI rejection comes after the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, (TUI) which represents a third of teachers at second level, agreed to the reforms.

That disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that the ASTI rejection is based on a mandate from fewer than 4,000 teachers and that only 38% of the 18,000 ASTI members even bothered to vote.