
Second teachers' union votes unanimously for potential industrial action over Leaving Cert reforms
A second teachers' union has voted unanimously to consider industrial action should the implementation of major senior cycle reform proceed as planned next September.
Introducing the motion of consequence at the Teacher's Union of Ireland's annual congress in Wexford, delegates argued the infrastructure necessary to support the changes were currently insufficient and would not be ready in time for when the new system goes live.
The new reforms, the most significant seen to the Leaving Cert schedule in more than a century, will see a fundamental move in emphasis away from written exams, with a minimum of 40% of marks for relevant subjects to come from project work.
Criticisms of the reforms include they will exacerbate the advantages of better-funded schools, and will leave assessments vulnerable to the threat of generative AI, for which teachers have argued there are no ethical nor practical guidelines in place.
After a 10-minute debate, the motion passed unanimously among delegates, meaning both the ASTI and TUI have now voted for potential industrial action to avert the changes being introduced in five months' time.
Speaking to media at the same time the motion was being debated, minister for education Helen McEntee stressed she believed her department was in 'lockstep' with the unions 'in terms of the fact that there needs to be change to the Leaving Cert'.
She said her current 'intensive' engagement with the unions regarding the pending reforms amounted to seeing 'what more I can do to support them'.
Regarding the possibility of industrial action, she said: 'I don't see there should be a need to get to that point."
She acknowledged, however, that no comprehensive guidance has been issued in terms of AI, adding guidance would be issued 'in the coming months', a statement likely to be met with unhappy responses from the gathered teachers, who had repeatedly expressed their unhappiness with the tardiness of the provision of those guidelines across the two days of their congress.

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RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Behind the Story: Estonia's different approach to AI in education
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The Department of Education is finalising guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence in schools. It says this guidance will focus on AI in teaching and learning, and will come in addition to the Examinations Commission's advice on the technology when it comes to the Leaving and Junior Certificate. Ultimately, decisions on how it may or may not be used in Irish schools will come down to the Boards of Management at each one. But while Ireland grapples with how to police AI in the classroom, another EU nation is embracing it – and it's one of the continent's top performing places when it comes to learning. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation's (OECD) PISA tests, which examine education outcomes in 79 countries, Estonian students are top in Europe in math and science. They are also second in the EU when it comes to reading, only behind Ireland. From September, the country will roll out licences for artificial intelligence platforms to students aged 16 and 17, as well as teachers. The technology will be integrated into the learning process for all subjects, including physical education. Speaking to RTÉ's Behind the Story podcast, the country's education minister Krisinta Kallas said that AI is here to stay and that the country wants to harness it rather than discourage it. "We are worried that if we don't do anything, and if we don't do more supervised learning with AI, there will be a lot of unsupervised learning with AI anyway and that would be at the detriment of the skills and competences of the children." Ms Kallas said that it will be up to the teachers to determine how exactly it will be used. 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Mobile phones Unlike other countries in Europe, Estonia supports the use of mobile phones in schools. But Ms Kallas said teachers ultimately take autonomy in decisions when it comes to them. "We believe in a bottom-up approach when we allow schools to make those regulations," she said. "Mobile phones are used in class for learning purposes quite a lot in Estonia. "And also mobile phones in Estonia are used for all other things that you do in life. "The child needs to get the bus schedule to get home, needs to contact their parents, needs to figure out how to get to the sports club after school. "We do voting and other activities as citizens through our mobile phones. "It would be confusing for the younger generation that on one side we want them to vote online and use their phones to do their civic duty and on the other side we ban them from the school. "What we need to do is make them learn how to use the mobile phone for the right purposes."


RTÉ News
15 hours ago
- RTÉ News
ASTI calls for talks with department after Leaving Cert reform rejection
The ASTI has called for talks with the Department of Education following the rejection by its members of measures to support implementation of the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme from this September. Commenting on the comprehensive rejection by teachers' union members of the proposals, the union's General Secretary Kieran Christie said "we think there is scope for further engagement". Asked about the possibility of additional talks now Minister for Education Helen McEntee said Leaving Certificate reform will still go ahead this September and the package of measures that have been agreed will remain. The ASTI rejection, and its strength, has come as a surprise to many as 67% of members rejected the plans in a ballot that had a high turnout - 73% of members. Members also gave their union a mandate for action up to and including industrial action. A week earlier, Teachers Union of Ireland members voted to accept the measures. The TUI leadership had recommended acceptance, whereas the ASTI made no recommendation to its members. The ASTI rejection is a significant indication of the concern felt by teachers around aspects of the reform. What it will mean for the implementation of Senior Cycle reform is not as yet clear. The union's next steps have yet to be agreed upon. Its executive is due to meet in ten days time and, according to Mr Christie, will "be looking at the outcome of the ballot and considering a way forward". Mr Christie said there was "a need now for calm heads to prevail". Teacher concerns centre on Additional Assessment Components (ACCs), which will be worth 40% of all marks in a revamped senior cycle. The AACs will typically involve practical project work completed during the year, which will then be written up into a report and will then be assessed. Teacher concerns include the potential for students to use AI to cheat when writing these reports. There are also other concerns around equity. The science subjects are among the first to be revamped, starting this September for students entering 5th year. Biology teacher and member of the union's Executive Council Adrieanne Healy said teachers were looking for the changes to be paused for a year. Calling the introduction "rushed", she said while some private fee-charging schools had state-of-the-art science laboratories as well as lab technicians, many other schools had facilities of a far lower standard. She said teachers were concerned about the impact of this inequality on student outcomes. Commenting on teacher worries around the potential misuse of AI by students, in order to cheat, Ms Healy said teachers could not understand why a system with "100% integrity" was being replaced with one with only "60% integrity". Speaking later, the Minister for Education said reform of the Leaving Certificate will be an "absolute game changer" for students. "This is about equipping our young people for what is an ever-changing world. It's about taking our pressure off them, that absolute focus on exams at the end of the year and making sure we are testing their abilities, different skills, different requirements for people to move into the workforce," Helen McEntee said. She said acknowledged the ASTI statement but added "Leaving Cert reform will still go ahead this September". "All of the unions have signed up to this as part of the public sector pay agreement," she said.

The Journal
3 days ago
- The Journal
Threat of industrial action in secondary schools as ASTI rejects Leaving Cert reform package
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