Junior Cert ‘reforms’ will place intolerable pressures on students

It is annoying to see the current attack by politicians on the Junior Cert syllabus constantly being referred to as a “reform”. It is nothing of the sort.

I hope the new Dáil will commit to suspend the brainless forcing through of coursework into the Junior Cert curriculum, whether marked by the classroom teacher or externally.

Coursework — written material supposedly done by the pupil outside the exam and possibly outside the school — will not reduce stress; the stress comes from the competition for limited college places and not from the exam as such.