The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has dismissed speculation in ASTI circles that he plans to set two separate Leaving Cert exams in some subjects.
Some ASTI members who have refused to implement new courses in biology and home economics believe the Minister will set separate exams on both the old and the new courses in these subjects if the ban continues.
For the past eight months ASTI members have banned co-operation with new syllabi. In practice, members have been refusing to attend in-service courses in biology and home economics. However, TUI members have been co-operating with the new syllabi in both courses.
One hardline member of ASTI said last night: "The Minister can say what he likes. The reality is he will have to set two separate exams if we continue with the ban."
Since the beginning of the school year the Department has advised ASTI members to teach elements of both courses which are common to the old and the new syllabi. But a two-month moratorium on the issue, offered by Mr Dempsey to help lower the temperature in the ASTI dispute, passed 10 days ago.
Over 17,000 ASTI members will decide in a ballot this week whether to suspend the ban on co-operation with new syllabi, which was adopted as part of its pay campaign. The union is also balloting on proposed new payments for supervision and substitution work.
Yesterday Mr Dempsey's spokeswoman said there was no question of two separate exams when the new courses are examined in June 2004. She said: "There is one official syllabus at any time. The revised syllabi in home economics and biology are the official courses which will be examined."
She also stressed that full professional support and in-service training would be made available to all relevant teachers if and when ASTI lifts the ban. The ban on new courses has caused considerable confusion in schools. Less than 20 per cent of ASTI members voted on the issue.
There is a widespread belief in ASTI that members will accept the new offer on supervision and lift the ban on co-operation with new courses. Balloting begins this week and will continue until Tuesday of next week. The result should be known by November 21st. The union's executive will meet shortly after this to assess the result and the future of the union's pay campaign.
Meanwhile, the union's vice-president, Mr Pat Cahill, has warned that the benchmarking pay review will "probably deliver nothing to the workers of the country". Writing in a personal capacity in a trade union journal, he says the Government could use the inability-to-pay clause and the "belt-tightening economic scenario" to back away from its commitments to workers.