PRESSURE TO reform the Leaving Certificate has intensified after Tom Boland chief executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) called for a radical overhaul of the exam yesterday.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr Boland said the emphasis which the exam places on rote learning is increasingly out of kilter with modern needs.
Mr Boland said there is reason to be concerned that our education system may not be adapting quickly enough. The concern of some employers and others is that while our students and graduates perform well technically when it comes to exams, there is less confidence in their ability to bring to the workplace skills such as critical analysis, communication, (including foreign languages), initiative and teamwork.
He said the focus of many students was exclusively on CAO points in the Leaving Certificate. “They put ever more of their energies into exam success and less into understanding, analysing and communicating what the curriculum presents. The concern is that this could become a habit of mind that is difficult to break.’’
“As the Leaving Certificate is likely to remain the entrance examination to higher education, it should inculcate and assess the skills and aptitudes necessary to succeed in life; as a student at third level and as a graduate equipped for employment and society.’’
Last year, Mr Boland said many “spoon-fed’’ Leaving Certificate students were struggling with independent learning at third level.
Mr Boland pointed out how a recent report from the European Commission had lavished praise on higher education in Ireland. It found that Ireland’s graduates were among the most employable in Europe and are rated second best (after Finland) by the other European universities.
But he said this finding must be placed alongside concerns raised by major employers in Ireland that too many graduates are focused on learning for the test rather than on acquiring a broad range of adaptable skills suitable for the workplace.
Last December, senior executives from Google, Intel, Hewlett- Packard and other multinationals raised concerns about the quality of graduates from some universities and some institutes of technology at a meeting with former minister for education, Batt O’Keeffe .
Mr Boland also said he was disappointed that key education issues like Leaving Certificate reform scarcely got a mention at this week’s teacher conference where debate will focus on pay and conditions.
“While the attention of teachers at their conferences this week will be on these issues . . . the “other” education debate – on grade inflation and the quality of second level education – has not gone away.
“When the dust settles on industrial relations issues, as it will, the debate on the kind of skills and competencies that our education system promotes will remain and our teachers and their leaders have an important contribution to make to that.’’
Mr Boland praised the Shannon branch of the TUI who have called for a Leaving Certificate examination in the Chinese language.
