JUNIOR CYCLE STUDENTS are receiving their exam results today.

More than 70,000 students will begin to get their results from 9am.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has congratulated all students receiving their Junior Cycle results today while also pointing to challenges in the education system.

TUI President David Waters said: “This is an important milestone in their educational journey and they should be extremely proud of their achievements to date.”

“It is also important today to acknowledge the encouragement and support of parents and guardians and the dedication of teachers over the duration of the Junior Cycle years,” he said.

“As always, we urge students to be careful and responsible in their celebrations.”

But he also drew attention to the good performance of students despite the level of funding provided by the Government, when compared to other OECD countries. 

‘The latest international PISA findings of 15-year-old Irish students show that the scores across the three areas which were examined – Mathematics, Science and Reading – were all rated as being ‘statistically significantly’ above the OECD average.’ 

‘However, the latest OECD Education At A Glance report shows that at second level, Ireland’s spend as a percentage of GDP (0.9%) is the lowest of the 34 countries for which figures are provided, trailing far behind the OECD average of 1.9%.’

‘We once again urge the Government to match the commitment of Irish students and their teachers by investing properly in education.’

Waters said the current teacher recruitment and retention crisis “limits subject choice and often sees students taught subjects by a succession of teachers across both Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle”. 

He described the situation as “absolutely unacceptable”.