The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has congratulated all students receiving their Junior Cycle results today.
The union has called for enhanced resourcing to tackle the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, which would also ensure that students have access to the full breadth of subjects and could be taught in smaller groups.
Speaking today, TUI President Anthony Quinn said:
‘We congratulate all students receiving their Junior Cycle results today. This is a significant staging post in their personal educational journey and they and their families should be extremely proud of their achievements to date.’
‘We would also like to acknowledge the unstinting support of parents and guardians and the dedication of teachers over the Junior Cycle years.’
‘As always, students should be careful and responsible in their celebrations.’
The commitment of students and teachers must be matched
‘In addition to congratulating students, we would like to draw attention to two telling international findings.’
‘The latest international PISA findings (2023) of 15-year-old Irish students show that the scores across the three areas examined – Mathematics, Science and Reading – were all rated as being ‘statistically significantly’ above the OECD average.’
‘However, the latest OECD Education At A Glance report, released just last month, shows that at second level, Ireland’s spend as a percentage of GDP is the lowest of the countries for which figures are provided, trailing far behind the OECD average.'
‘We once again urge the Government to match the commitment of Irish students and their teachers by investing properly in education to enhance the experience of students and to keep the profession attractive.’
‘The teacher recruitment and retention crisis limits subject choice and often sees students taught subjects by a succession of teachers across both Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle. Increasingly, it is also resulting in a migration of extremely talented teachers from the profession.’
‘Increasing the teaching allocation to second level schools would ensure the provision of more subjects and smaller classes while also giving schools more flexibility to offer contracts of full hours that would retain teachers in the system. A TUI survey earlier this year found that of those who entered the profession since 2015, just 26% received a contract of full hours upon initial appointment.’
TUI welcomed the increased numbers of Distinctions, Higher Merits and Merits in this year’s results, a positive development resulting from the recent changes and expansion in the grade ranges in marking scheme for higher grades. This was a move that the TUI had long advocated for, as it fosters greater student confidence and a well-deserved sense of achievement.