ASTI calls on education Minister to defer revised Leaving Certificate science subjects
The ASTI has written to the Minister for Education Norma Foley calling on her to defer the introduction of the three revised Leaving Certificate subjects - Biology, Chemistry and Physics - for one year, to September 2026.
This follows considerable disquiet amongst teachers regarding the failure of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to share submissions from a public consultation with the three Subject Development Groups charged with devising the revised syllabi.
The content of submissions made to the NCCA as part of a public consultation process on draft Biology, Chemistry and Physics subject specifications were not shared with the three NCCA Subject Development Groups for these subjects. Furthermore, a report setting out some details from the consultation process was only made available to the three Subject Development Groups some weeks after they had concluded their work.
The ASTI has called for the Subject Development Groups to be reconvened in September 2024, with access to submissions made during the consultation process so that the Groups may complete their work.
The ASTI will dissociate itself from the proposed draft specifications for Leaving Certificate Biology, Chemistry and Physics until they are revisited. In addition, the ASTI has stated that the full range of syllabus documentation must be made available to teachers one year prior to the implementation of any new subject specification in schools.
Ends
