Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has approved radical proposals to abolish the Junior Certificate and replace it with a course that sees a greater emphasis on continuous assessment.

Addressing the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, which published its report into the future of the country's education system at Junior Cert level last month, he confirmed key proposals such as capping the number of subjects at eight.

Mr Quinn said this will "address the concerns about the backwash effect of the examinations [and] make time and space for embedding of key skills, active learning and broadly based assessment".

The plans - which are to be brought in from 2014 - will see less emphasis on exams, with continuous assessment programmes making up around 60 per cent of a pupil's final mark.

Mr Quinn said the changes will lead to a system where children are taught valuable critical skills, with less of a focus on rote learning in order to pass tests.

However, teachers' unions expressed reservations about the plans, with Pat King, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, calling for more dialogue with educators to allay fears the proposals have not been fully thought out.

Written by Donal Walsh
 

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