A PROPOSAL to resolve the dispute over Junior Cycle reform has been agreed between the Department of Education and second-level teaching unions.
Leaders of the ASTI and the TUI, along with Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, say they support proposals outlined in a document entitled ‘Junior Cycle Reform: Joint Statement on Principles and Implementation’.
The document will be presented by the leadership of both unions to their executives on Friday.
The Department of Education will also present the document to all education stakeholders.
The proposals will be published in full following these meetings.
Discussions leading to this proposed resolution have followed recent commentary by Minister O’Sullivan, who outlined five key principles that must underpin any reform of the Junior Cycle.
These include: the need to recognise a wide range of learning, a requirement to reduce the focus on one exam as a means of assessment, and the need to give prominence to classroom-based assessment.
The document will form the basis for a ballot of trade union members, to take place in the autumn.
