The proposal met with overwhelming support at the ASTI convention in Killarney on Wednesday.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) have overwhelmingly supported a proposal that would allow Junior and Leaving Certificate students who have become seriously ill or who have been affected by the death of a family member to sit repeat examinations later in the year. Motion 51 regarding exam arrangements, which was brought by East Mayo, was overwhelmingly carried at the annual ASTI convention, which has been taking place in Killarney this week. Currently, while students in crisis are permitted to sit the exams at a special examination centre or at another time, this must be done on the same day as the other candidates. https://twitter.com/astiunion/status/854711961040375814 Speaking at the conference on Wednesday, James Howley of the East Mayo branch of the ASTI, said that it was “very harsh” for students affected by a bereavement to have to repeat a full year and re-sit an entire set of exams on the anniversary of the death of a family member. “Prescribed texts may have changed in the meantime, entirely new projects and orals tests would have to be done all over again and in some cases the entire syllabus may have changed,” Howley is quoted as saying in the Irish Times. “I know of one girl in my own locality who had to sit her Leaving Cert English paper at 8am and afterwards attend her own mother’s funeral.” Normal business was suspended at the ASTI convention on Wednesday so that a range of issues could be discussed in private. https://twitter.com/astiunion/status/854712742384685057 In his keynote address on Wednesday, ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie acknowledged that the past year “has been tumultuous at times” and vowed that the ASTI would “continue its campaigns for equal pay for recently qualified teachers and sound reform of the Junior Cycle”. Earlier this month, the ASTI signalled its intention to ballot its members on industrial action, up to and including strike action, in order to protect ASTI teachers from being made redundant.