Twenty-seven thousand second-level teachers will be balloted on non-cooperation with new Junior Cycle proposals this March.
 
The second-level teacher unions the ASTI and the TUI are objecting to aspects of Junior Cycle proposals announced by the Minister for Education and Skills which pose serious threats to education standards and to the objectivity and transparency of Junior Cycle exams.
 
Members of the ASTI and the TUI are also concerned about the time scale for the introduction of the proposals and the capacity of second-level schools to implement significant change in the context of schools having been stripped of vital resources.
 
Teachers have also stressed that the proposals are likely to worsen inequalities between schools.
 
ASTI General Secretary Pat King said: "Teachers have no confidence in the Junior Cycle reform proposals. Teachers were not consulted before the announcement of these proposals and they believe that several aspects of the proposals are educationally unsound. They want the best for their students and they cannot stand back and allow the implementation of reform plans that they believe will damage education."
 
TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said: “Teachers demand that public education provision of the highest standard is preserved. We believe that student achievement in the new Junior Cycle must be externally assessed and nationally certified by the State Examinations Commission. Change for which adequate and appropriate preparation has not been made can cause lasting damage to the education system and particularly to individual students.”
 
The ballots will ask teachers to take industrial action including, but not limited to, non-co-operation with aspects of the new Junior Cycle, as directed by the ASTI and TUI.
 
The results of the ballots will be announced on March 26th.

Source: ASTI/TUI Joint Press Statement

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