Plan to reform Leaving Cert Irish and English must be shelved

Let’s make meaningful change. Not change for change’s sake, writes Shane Ó Coinn 

'Teachers of Irish have particularly grave concerns about what is being proposed as there is no evidence of any sound educational or linguistic basis for this decision.'

The Minister for Education announced in March of last year that Leaving Certificate Paper 1 for Irish and English would move to the end of fifth year beginning in September 2023. This decision came as a shock to the educational community, as it was not something that was previously mooted, planned for, requested or anticipated.

This plan was packaged as an interim measure as part of the overall reform of Senior Cycle, under the apparent auspices of reducing pressure on students, as it will be a number of years before noticeable reform at Senior Cycle takes place. There is little evidence to suggest, however, that this proposal will reduce pressure on students. On the contrary, there is much evidence to suggest that this is not an educationally sound decision and that it will adversely affect student outcomes.