Education Minister ‘deeply disappointed’ by teachers’ strike plans

Plans by second level teachers to hold strikes in the autumn in protest at proposed reforms to the Junior Certificate are unwarranted and will damage students’ interests, the Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has said.

On Wednesday the second level teachers' union, ASTI warned of a series of one-day strikes strikes from September.

The strikes could close up to 500 schools if the ongoing dispute over proposed changes to the junior cycle was not resolved.

In a statement on Thursday, Ms O’Sullivan said she was “deeply disappointed” that the ASTI had chosen to threaten further inconvenience to students and parents through a series of strikes over junior cycle reform.

Members of the ASTI rejected the proposed new junior cycle reforms in a ballot carried out in September 2015. However, only 40 per cent of the ASTI’s members voted.

Teachers who are members of another education union, the TUI, voted last year to accept a deal on junior cycle reforms by 69 per cent to 31 per cent, in a ballot in which 60 per cent of their members participated.

Ms O’Sullivan said she had made it clear to the ASTI that her door was open to clarify any issues regarding the arrangements for “much needed” junior cycle reforms that were now being implemented.

“Unfortunately the ASTI is closing the door on that process. The new junior cycle arrangements had been agreed with the leadership of both unions following long and intensive engagement,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

“ASTI’s previous concerns over teachers assessing their own students for State certification purposes have been addressed. Unfortunately, ASTI has now unilaterally decided on a course of action that will damage students’ interests.

“The continuing non-cooperation of ASTI members with elements of the new arrangements is already disadvantaging current junior cycle students of English who are undertaking the new programme in first and second year,” she said.

The Minister said it was unacceptable that the ASTI now intended to extend this policy into the next school year. She said the revised junior cycle proposals, which have been accepted by the TUI, will deliver much-needed improvement in the teaching and learning experience of students. Ms O’Sullivan said the proposals have been widely welcomed as a “positive development for our education system.”

ASTI vice-president Ed Byrne said the teachers did not want to strike and that there is no monetary claim involved.

The problem of Junior Certificate reform is multifaceted, he told Newstalk Breakfast on Thursday.

“The changes proposed need to be examined. We want in depth discussions with the Department of Education,” he said. “There is a massive disconnect between the Junior Cert cycle and the Leaving Cert.”

The ASTI maintained there was “a window of opportunity for the next minister for education to resolve teachers’ outstanding concerns before the 2016/17 school year”.

It said outstanding concerns included “the lack of an externally assessed oral exam in modern languages and Gaeilge and increased workload and bureaucracy for teachers”.