Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, addresses Annual Conference of Gaelscoileanna and Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta
November 27, 2012
Major changes for Irish and Irish-medium education signalled
Changes to the curriculum in Irish in Irish-medium and mainstream schools, compulsory oral Irish tests at junior cycle, the expansion of Irish-medium schooling, and improvements in Irish in teacher education are among the major developments signalled by Sean Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills today.
In a wide-ranging speech to the joint annual conference of Gaelscoileanna and Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta in Galway, Mr Ó Foghlú said that the Department of Education and Skills was fully committed to implementing the ambitious actions in the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language.
The Department has prioritised key areas for action, including steps to increase the supply of Irish-medium schooling and the provision of better curricula for Irish in Irish-medium and mainstream schools.
Mr Ó Foghlú said, “The Department of Education and Skills will strive, over the life-time of the Strategy, to make Irish-medium education available to all students whose parents wish to avail of it.”
He cited the current process of divesting primary schools in areas of stable populations as an opportunity which could see more schools to operate as gaelscoileanna, should there be parental demand.
At post-primary level he said, “We will continue to identify areas where there is a need for a new gaelcholáiste in accordance with a threshold of demand of 400 pupils which is considerably lower than the equivalent 800 for English medium schools. We are also conscious of the need to explore the potential of other options such as Irish language units and Irish language streams.”
Mr Ó Foghlú also noted that substantial change was underway in initial teacher education. The changes are intended to strengthen the teaching of Irish in colleges and to ensure that teachers’ standards of Irish and their ability to teach the language are enhanced.
The Secretary General said that the Literacy and Numeracy strategy of the Department had recognised the need to revise the curriculum at primary and post-primary level and that this work was underway at the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
“We expect that the oral language test will be a compulsory part of the new syllabus and assessment requirements for Irish, in accordance with the implementation of the Framework for Junior Cycle launched last month by Minister Quinn,” he said.
In parallel at junior cycle, an optional additional short course in advanced Irish would be made available to use by students in Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools; this has been a long-standing demand of Irish-medium education interests.
“Such a short course would allow students in Irish-medium schools to study and gain credit for an ability in the language at a significantly advanced level,” he said.
Mr Ó Foghlú also announced that the Department had decided to integrate An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) under the aegis of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
“These new arrangements will allow COGG to concentrate its resources on its core functions of providing teaching resources to support the teaching of Irish in tandem with the NCCA’s work on revising the curriculum. The general administrative functions, which are a considerable burden on a small staff, will now be provided by the NCCA,” he stated.
In this new arrangement, COGG will retain a separate identity under the aegis of the NCCA. The move will strengthen its ability to support Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish generally.
