Teachers strike outside Colaiste Bride, Enniscorthy on Thursday last. Pic: John Walsh

SECONDARY SCHOOLS throughout Enniscorthy were closed on Thursday as teachers braved the cold to protest against new Junior Certificate measures – but they stressed that they are against grading their own students, not reform.

Local second-level teachers joined 27,000 others across the country for the protest by the Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), in what was the second one day-strike by the unions.

There was plenty of beeps of support for the Enniscorthy educators who took to the picket lines wrapped up in hats and scarves over the ongoing impasse, wielding signs that made their point clear: “Equality and fairness for students.”

The teachers insisted that they were not protesting against Junior Cert reform, saying they have been making positive suggestions about real improvements in the Junior Cycle for years.

Instead, they were taking a stand against major concerns over plans which would see teachers assessing 40% of marks in the new Junior Cycle Student Award.

“We are advocates – not judges,” St. Mary’s CBS teacher Jim McGovern told The Echo.

Full story in this week’s Echo.