A DECISION ON the Leaving Certificate is not a definite this week after Cabinet meet on Tuesday, a minister has said.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said that the government is not setting any “artificial” timeline on when an official announcement can be expected.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that leaders need to give clarity about the exams as soon as possible.
However, the minister has indicated an announcement is not guaranteed in the coming days.
Speaking on RTÉ One’s This Week in Politics, O’Brien said that “we’re not setting any artificial timelines on this”.
“The most important thing is the students themselves and their families and that we get an agreement with our partners in education and the unions of a way forward and agree a way forward on this.
O’Brien said that talks between the Department of Education and teachers’ unions are ongoing during the weekend.
“We’re confident that we will be able to provide that certainty for people but I think setting a timeframe of Tuesday may not be helpful,” O’Brien said.
“If it happens by then, absolutely fine, but the priority for us is those students, many of whom have missed school last year and this year as well. We want to give that certainty and we will but we can only do that when we’ve agreement with our partners and the teachers,” he said.
Discussions between the department and unions have been ongoing to determine the shape the Leaving Cert will take this year.
Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice said that the government “needs to give clarity to those students who are going to sit the Leaving Cert this year”.
“I think over the last couple of months, the government has lost control, and the Department of Education has lost control. It has been stop-start,” Fitzmaurice said.
He said that the Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI) withdrawing from the talks had “stalled” the process.
ASTI pulled out from the talks on Thursday over a number of concerns about the exams, particularly around additional components such as orals, practicals, and other coursework, which they felt were being ignored, and a lack of data available to calculate grades.
The union rejoined the talks yesterday after “constructive engagement” with Minister for Education Norma Foley, who they said gave assurances on several of its concerns.
Teachers will not be asked to rank their students in order of merit, which was a requirement last year, the union was told.
“The ASTI also raised the issue of a lack of data available in many schools to base and inform the parallel/corresponding measure which the Minister is seeking to put in place alongside the Leaving Certificate. The Minister has committed to working with stakeholders to strengthen the position in this regard,” the union said in a statement.
“The Minister was unequivocal in her statement of commitment to holding the Leaving Certificate this year. On that basis, the ASTI believes that doubts regarding the staging of additional component elements of this year’s Leaving Certificate Examinations have been substantially alleviated,” ASTI said.
“We expect the Minister to ensure that they will take place,” it said.
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