Issu hits out at asti for withdrawal from leaving cert talks

The Irish Second Level Students Union has hit out at the ASTI for pulling out of talks over this year's Leaving Cert exams.

The pupils representative body has called for more co-operation between all stakeholders after the main secondary teachers union left discussions with the Department of Education last night. In a statement, the ASTI described a proposal to rely heavily on calculated grades as "not viable". Wexford student and secretary of the ISSU Matthew Colgan says the teaching union needs to show more compassion for students: [audio wav="https://www.southeastradio.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Matthew-Colgan-ASTI.wav"][/audio] Meanwhile Deirdre McDonald, a past President of the ASTI and CBS teacher in Wexford explains that the discussions centered around a pick and mix approach between an exam and calculated grades: [audio wav="https://www.southeastradio.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/mcdonald.wav"][/audio]