Call to keep History as a compulsory subject

A CALL for the Department of Education and Skills to revisit the downgrading of history as a subject in the new Junior Certificate was made in the Dáil by Fianna Fáil Deputy Kevin O’Keeffe.

“History should be kept compulsory in light of the changing facade of modern-day society,” he said.

“It must be acknowledged that things being decided today are often based on what we know from the past. That is why history should be kept as a compulsory subject in our curriculum.”

Education Minister Richard Bruton said History is only a compulsory subject in voluntary secondary schools. It is not compulsory in half of the sector. Despite that, 90 per cent of people take up History.

“The new curriculum will be much more creative in its content and we believe it will attract people to take up History,” he said. “It will also be more fulfilling in that they will look at history in the context of their own community and it will encourage research and curiosity. We feel it is a very strong curriculum.

“Broadly, we have introduced limited compulsion into the Junior Cycle. Only Mathematics, Irish and English will be compulsory subjects and this followed wide consultation on the best way to develop a Junior Cycle programme that developed the talents of people for future needs.”