Secondary educators have issued a warning about the increasing likelihood of students using artificial intelligence (AI) to cheat on their Leaving Certificate, due to proposed reforms that could see up to 40% of marks assigned for coursework. These updates, set to take effect from September 2025, will necessitate senior-cycle students to embark on project work and research investigations from the fifth year in subjects like physics, biology, and chemistry.
Education Minister, Norma Foley, indicated that these changes are proposed mainly to alleviate the stresses related to end-of-year written exams in the sixth year. Nevertheless, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), during their annual conference, passed a resolution urgently requesting adaptability in the marks allocated for research projects, citing advancements in AI technology.
Adrienne Healy, a member of the union hailing from its Dublin northwest branch, argued that AI facilitates the rapid generation of projects with the simple input of the title, potentially earning most of the marks—an unfair practice in academics.
John Conneely, chair of the union’s Clare branch, criticised the proposed changes, referring to them as “a political decision” rather than an educational one and contended that they could devalue the assessment methodology and intensify social disparities.
Inequalities in resource availability, such as laboratory access and digital devices will escalate, said Conneely. Geraldine O’Brien, president of ASTI, asserted that substantial investment would be required to upgrade laboratories to the necessary standards across all educational institutions, ensuring fair opportunities for all young individuals.
Responding to the concerns, Foley commented that introducing any changes can be challenging. She further clarified that these amendments arose from the students’ desire to distribute the assessment load more evenly, ensuring that outcomes are not entirely dependent on a single day’s exam in June.
Furthermore, the Minister revealed plans to combat cyberbullying and abusive behaviour on social media platforms, acknowledging its detrimental effects on students, teachers and society at large. Under a new online safety code, social media companies could face penalties as high as €20 million if they fail to act. “The era of big tech firms regulating themselves is over,” Minister Foley declared, earning applause from delegates.
The ASTI conference in Wexford also included discussions surrounding the serious teacher deficit in Ireland, suggesting that this could be rectified by enticing Irish educators currently working internationally, such as in Dubai, to come back home. Currently, Irish teachers working at a secondary level in non-European Union nations in private institutes are forced to start at a significantly lower pay grade when they return to employ in Ireland.
Ms O’Brien expressed the need for such teachers to be given full credit for their teaching tenure spent overseas, to encourage them to revive their teaching careers in Ireland. According to her, the vast majority of such professionals struggle to sustain a decent standard of living in Ireland due to being reverted, in terms of pay, back to their initial positions on the pay scale.
She noted the injustice in how overseas Irish primary teachers, unlike their secondary counterparts, were duly recognized for their international work. She also emphasised that these returning teachers should be given access to consistent, full-time roles instead of having to make do with part-time or short-term teaching posts.
On the other hand, Ms Foley demonstrated a certain level of reluctance in making the idea of working abroad too enticing for second-level teachers. She asserted the necessity to strike a balance between acknowledging a teacher’s international service and upholding fairness to the teachers residing in Ireland.
Further suggestions made at the conference included making the profession more appealing by shortening the extensive 25-point pay grade and also by reducing the period of postgraduate qualification, which currently spans over two years. Ms Foley agreed with the qualification period, stating that it may take time but it ensures the preparedness of graduates for modern challenges.
In addition to these points, the ASTI conference also saw delegates endorsing the idea of rescheduling the oral exams from their current Easter slot to a time outside of the holiday break.”