There is no deadline for a decision being made on this year’s Leaving Cert, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said on Sunday.
He said the Government was “not setting any timeline” for reaching an agreement on the exams.
As The Irish Times reports, his comments appear to contradict a statement from Taoiseach Micheál Martin who said last week there would be clarity this week on what form this year’s Leaving Certificate would take.
On Saturday the ASTI said it would re-join discussions involving the Department of Education and teachers’ unions.
It had been expected that Cabinet would agree on a plan this Tuesday to give students an option of calculated grades or a written exam.
“We are not setting any artificial timelines on this. The most important thing for the students and their families is that we get agreement with their partners in education and the unions on a way forward,” Mr O’Brien said.
“I am very pleased that ASTI are back in on those talks. They are happening right the way through the weekend. We are confident that we will be able to provide that certainty for people but I think setting a timeframe of Tuesday may not be helpful,” Mr O’Brien said.Leaving Cert.
“If it happens by then, absolutely fine, but the priority for us is those students, many of which missed a lot of school. We want to give that certainty, and we will, but we can only do that with the agreement of our partners,” he said.
Artificial timeline
Mr O’Brien said he is confident that an agreement can be reached “in the short term”, he told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics. “Sometimes it is not helpful to set an artificial timeline.”
Government and union sources say March 1st is being examined as a potential date for reopening primary schools on a phased basis, subject to public-health advice.
At second level, the ambition is for a phased return from late February or early March, beginning with sixth-year students.
The ASTI pulled out of the talks because it said it was unhappy that the calculated grades system was being prioritised over coursework, orals and practical exams.
Following a “constructive” meeting with Minister for Education Norma Foley on Friday, the union announced on Saturday morning that it would re-join the discussions.
The decision was welcomed by Ms Foley. An ASTI statement said: “The Minister was unequivocal in her statement of commitment to holding the Leaving Certificate this year."
