Teachers oppose Leaving Cert reform which requires extra work

Teachers have flagged their opposition to any reform of the senior cycle which requires them to mark their own students or take on any additional workload, and reiterated their demand that the Leaving Cert remain State-certified.

Speaking at the Teachers’ Union of Ireland conference in Killarney, Gerry Quinn, a teacher from the Laois branch, said that these demands should be non-negotiable.

“Teachers should learn lessons from the contentious reform of the junior cycle. Threats to us as educationalists and workers are likely to emerge during this process and we should work on a strategy with our sister union, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland.”

Helen O’Mahony of the Dublin city branch agreed with these red lines but emphasised that teachers were in favour of Leaving Cert reform. “We know it is not fit for purpose,” she said. “It is high-pressured and causing massive stress for students. We should be leading this reform.”

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Teachers also raised concerns that unannounced school inspections were trying to “catch us on the hop” and that they were facing an increasing level of workload and bureaucracy. Anne Howard of the TUI executive committee said that she was supportive of accountability but that school inspections should be consistent, professionally supportive of schools, centres and teachers and not involve excessive workload for teachers.