The Teachers’ Union of Ireland have warned that there could be “days of strike” unless the Minister for Education steps in to resolve the dispute over the reform of the Junior Certificate.
Proposals for a change in the cycle see suggestions that 40% of a student’s grade should be decided by a continuous assessment process in place of the current Junior Certificate State Examination which will be abolished completely. However, the dispute arises as a result of the fact that teachers are unhappy that they may have to mark their own students.
President of the TUI Gerry Quinn told RTE this morning that there could well be the possibility of a one-day strike before the end of this month. The news comes following the breakdown of talks between the union and the Department of Education on Tuesday.
Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan stated that she had tried to accommodate the position of the teachers and added that she didn’t think she could “possibly move further”.
She also advised teachers to look carefully at the proposal for the changes, saying that the new system would actually improve the school system.
