Taoiseach's view: The Leaving Cert is respected internationally but it may need a better balance between rote learning and analysis, writes Bertie Ahern

Firstly, I want to wish all of our students good luck with their exams. There is no doubt that this is a nerve-racking time, but all the hard work really will be worth it.

With huge increases in third-level admission rates in recent years and with so many job opportunities available in so many different areas, the opportunities for our school-leavers have never been better.

I am so proud when I visit other countries to hear how highly they regard the Leaving Cert. The broad nature of the exams where students are not limited to just two or three subjects is widely regarded as a major strength, as is the fairness and objectivity of our system.

However, as with anything, there is always room for improvement. I know from when my own girls were studying for the Leaving Cert a few years ago that there is still an awful lot of rote learning involved, and this is something that I think we need to look at.

It is important to find the right balance between being able to remember a lot of information and being able to analyse what you know, and to develop independent research and critical thinking skills.

Being able to question why things are done a particular way, and to suggest an alternative solution, are such important skills in any job - my own included!

I know that the curriculum council (the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) is keen to promote those skills in the proposals for reform being prepared for Minister Mary Hanafin.

They are also looking at introducing more practical work, which would give students a chance to have more of their marks already earned before the June exams.

The new Leaving Cert courses in history and geography being examined for the first time this year involve marks for project work done during the year, and I think this is a positive step. Providing marks in more subjects for work done by young people during the year would lessen the pressure associated with all the results resting on their performance on a particular day.

The Minister is also investigating whether students could sit the first paper in English and in Irish earlier in the year. This would certainly help to reduce the writer's cramp associated with having to write non-stop for six hours on the first two days of the exams.

Two other areas that I would have particular views on are Irish and maths.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Minister that we should give more marks for the orals in Irish to put more emphasis on being able to speak the language, which at the end of the day is what is important. While completely opposed to the Fine Gael proposals to drop compulsory Irish, I am, however, strongly in favour of the Minister's plans to change how it is taught to make it far more enjoyable.

I also believe that we need to reform Leaving Cert maths as a priority. Having started out in the world of work as an accountant I am very much at home with figures, but I know that a great many students dread the subject and unfortunately only a small number take the higher-level option for the Leaving Cert.

Given the importance of maths, not only for people who will need it in their later career but for each of us in terms of being able to understand things like loan and mortgage interest rates, this really is a shame. So again I will be interested in seeing the curriculum council's proposals for maths reform. So, while we must protect the strengths of the Leaving Cert system to ensure that it is as highly regarded in the future as it is today, important proposals for reform are being developed. These will ensure that our education system does its best to prepare our young people for the challenges of a changing society and economy into the future.

In talking about the Leaving Cert, I want to give a special mention to its applied programme, which to me is just as prestigious as the standard exam. While the Applied Leaving Cert is held in very high regard by employers, who value its practical emphasis, I don't think it gets nearly as much credit as it deserves among the general public. I would like more young people to see it as an equally valuable alternative to the traditional Leaving Cert.

So, whatever exams you are facing into, the best of luck. It will all be over in a few weeks - and then a wide range of opportunities will await you.