Minister for Education Joe McHugh is to consider official advice on whether history should be compulsory for junior cycle students. A draft report produced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is understood to advise that making the subject compulsory could end up undermining junior cycle reforms. Mr McHugh last year sought a review on whether history should be an optional subject in the junior cycle following concerns that some students might never learn about key moments in national history. It is understood that a draft NCCA report states that any change to the status of history would have wider implications for the junior cycle framework as a whole. He said his personal view remained that there was a “unique role for history in the junior cycle curriculum”.

Source: The Irish Times June 20, 2019 20:15 UTC