Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan has said that she is prepared to talk to teachers about resources but that negotiation needs to be a two-way process.
Second-level schools across the country are closed today as teachers strike over Junior Cycle reform proposals.
Around 27,000 post-primary teachers are engaging in the action, which has resulted in a day off for around 350,000 students.
Ms O'Sullivan told RTÉ's News At One that there is room for movement from teachers and that she does not believe that strike action advances the dispute.
She said that teachers need to be willing to do some assessment and has appealed to them to sit down for further negotiations.
Thousands of teachers have formed pickets outside their schools to give public expression to their opposition.
The industrial action has been organised by the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland and the Teachers' Union of Ireland.
A second day's strike is planned for January.
ASTI President Philip Irwin said teachers see the reforms as a "significant threat to education standards and education quality".
He said: "They are reluctantly taking strike action today in protest at what they see as a significant threat to education standards and education quality in Ireland.
"However, we are open to further engagement with the Minister on this issue in an effort to seek a solution.
"We still believe it is possible to improve Junior Cycle education while maintaining the integrity of the education system."
Ms O'Sullivan has said the strike could have been averted.
She said this morning that she was disappointed the unions did not come and have meaningful talks.
The minister also said she offered a very significant proposal and she moved 60% from the original one.
Minister says teachers' strike could have been averted
Successive governments have explored changes to lower secondary education since 1999, but the attempts at reform have failed.
This latest attempt hit the rocks several weeks ago, as talks broke down over the issue of teachers assessing their own students for Junior Cycle certification.
In Pictures: Teachers' Strike
TUI President Gerry Quinn said: "Teachers fully recognise the importance of not relying exclusively on a terminal examination.
"Project, portfolio and practical work already form a significant part of many subjects, but, crucially, all elements are assessed externally.
"We are prepared to consider the extension of this practice provided it is done in a way which does not create more pressure on students."
Meanwhile, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said Ms O'Sullivan has moved a long way from the original plan.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Mr Howlin said he would like to see movement with the reform agenda for students into the future.
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has said he hopes a compromise can be reached in time to avert the next strike day.
Mr Kelly said he would like to hear more from students about what they think about the proposed reforms.
In Limerick, teachers on the picket lines said their objectivity will be open to compromise, particularly in smaller rural communities where they know parents and often socialise with them.
In addition, they say it puts many teachers in the same school in competition with each other, if some pupils are seen to do better than others.
They said with the current system pupils remain an anonymous number, and it does not matter where they live as they are marked anonymously according to effort.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Strike 'does not advance' teachers' dispute
Dengan url
http://newsdeadlineup.blogspot.com/2014/12/strike-does-not-advance-teachers-dispute.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Strike 'does not advance' teachers' dispute
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Strike 'does not advance' teachers' dispute
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar