LEAVING CERT students should be able to complete their CAO form after they receive their exam results, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has suggested.
He also raised the possibility of all students taking a first-year foundation course in college before specialising in later years. At present, students must submit their CAO change of mind application by July 1st – six weeks before the Leaving Cert results are published.
Mr Quinn signalled that students could make a much more informed choice if a revised timetable was introduced. While this was a matter for the universities which controlled the CAO, he said modern technology should allow for change.
He also backed the notion of students taking a general first year course in areas such as science, engineering and business before selecting more specialist options later. Students could, he said, make a much more informed decision about what they wanted to do when they were actually in the college system.
Mr Quinn was speaking at a conference in UCD on the transition from second to third level. The conference – the first major gathering of second- and third-level leaders – was organised jointly by the Higher Education Authority and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
It is expected to pave the way for major changes in the Leaving Cert and the points system.
Yesterday’s gathering at UCD was dominated by criticism of current arrangements. According to Mr Quinn, the points system is having a negative impact on the teaching and learning environment at second level.
He said the system colleges used to select students might be undermining those very qualities valued in our students in higher education – their ability to think for themselves, to create and innovate, to initiate and to question.
Mr Quinn also said students were increasingly opting for Leaving Cert subjects which are perceived to be “easier”.
These include geography and biology and agricultural science which has recorded a 42 per cent increase at higher level since 2008.