The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has said it will resume talks with the Department of Education over this year’s Leaving Cert after the teachers’ union pulled out of discussions earlier this week.
In a statement on Saturday, the ASTI said it would resume talks and “constructively engage” in the process to find a solution for Leaving Cert students this year.
The department had said it was prepared to proceed without the union in its bid to find a resolution.
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The teachers’ union said it withdrew from talks over doubts around whether oral and practical exams would take place, and the “consequent relegation of the Leaving Certificate to a secondary position”.
Ministers had criticised the decision by the ASTI to pull out of talks, with Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris describing it as “beyond unhelpful”.
Following an "unequivocal" commitment from Minister for Education Norma Foley to hold the traditional Leaving Cert exam, the union said on Saturday its concerns had been "substantially alleviated".
In the statement, the ASTI said it had raised issues around the “lack of data” available to schools to base proposed calculated grades on as part of an alternative to the written examinations.
“The Minister has committed to working with stakeholders to strengthen the position in this regard,” the statement said.
“The ASTI has been assured that the requirement for teachers to provide a list of their students in rank order of merit, like they did last year, will not feature in any corresponding/parallel measure that may be implemented this year,” it said.
“ASTI will now re-enter the bilateral discussions process. We will continue to constructively engage to seek to ensure ways are found to facilitate this year’s Leaving Certificate students in moving on with their lives,” it said.
Ms Foley welcomed the return of the ASTI to the talks, stating “intensive engagement is continuing with the education stakeholders to advance progress and provide certainty and clarity at the earliest possible time”.
Under draft plans, all 60,000 Leaving Cert students would have the option to avail of calculated grades and complete written exams in June if they wished, according to sources.
No agreement had been reached on how oral and practical exams might feed into this process.
Government sources say a memo on the Leaving Cert, along with school reopening plans, is being prepared for discussion at Cabinet next Tuesday.
It is likely to reflect the Coalition’s view that certainty must be provided for students.
Talks over the phased reopening of primary and secondary schools are also set to get under way next week.
Government and union sources say March 1st is being examined as a potential date for reopening primary schools on a phased basis, subject to public-health advice.
At second level, the ambition is for a phased return from late February or early March, beginning with sixth-year students.
