Irish education minister says teachers' strike "disproportionate"

Irish Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan said Thursday the strike action called by teacher unions was "disproportionate and unnecessary".

"There is no reason to close schools today. The strike will only result in students missing a day's teaching, disruption to parents and the loss of a day's pay for teachers," O'Sullivan said.

On Thursday, teachers with the Association of Secondary Teachers' Ireland and the Teachers' Union of Ireland staged a one-day strike at second-level schools across the country.

They are protesting plans for reforming the Junior Cycle (lower secondary education). The unions are opposed to pupils being assessed by their own teachers for 40 percent of their work instead of by an external examiner.

She said reform of the Junior Cycle is "important" and is a "policy priority".

"One education partner cannot be allowed to block this important reform," O'Sullivan said.

She said the voices of parents, students, school management and other partners are equally important in this debate.

"They support the fair and reasonable proposal I tabled in talks last November. Their mandate and opinion deserves equal recognition in relation to Junior Cycle reform," she added.

The current dispute with the teacher unions will not be resolved on the picket line, the Irish minister said.

"It will be resolved through meaningful negotiation," she said. Enditem