THE NCCA is a representative, policymaking body. It operates by establishing course committees for specific subjects at primary and second level.
The committees consist of specialist groups - mostly teachers. At Leaving Cert level, third-level representatives are also included - two from the universities and one from the NCEA. Education officers are seconded on an annual basis for a couple of days per week. When the draft of a new post-primary syllabus, for example, is completed, it is sent out to a range of organisations in the Republic, Northern Ireland, Britain and Europe. This process, Albert O Ceallaigh says, takes up to six months; feedback is incorporated into the final draft. Course committees are also responsible for producing teacher guidelines and advising on assessment. Co-ordinating committees at both first and second levels pull together the work of the individual committees. The final drafts are approved by the council before being sent to the Minister for his approval.
The Department of Education and Science then finalises a sample exam paper, which, O Ceallaigh explains, has been drafted by the NCCA. There are, at present, just four full-time professionals working in the NCCA and the equivalent of up to 14 people working on secondments. "We have been operating on a shoe-string," O Ceallaigh notes, "especially in staff terms. There is a concern within the council about the imbalance between the small number of staff who are permanent and the quite significant number who are on secondments of different kinds, varying from one month to two years.
"We want to maintain our flexibility, but the balance is wrong." A joint NCCA-Department of Education and Science planning group has been set up to examine these and other issues.
The NCCA will only acquire its new status when a commencement order is signed by the Minister. According to the Department, the mechanics of establishing a new extended board are currently being examined, and there will be no further developments until this issue has been decided. The Act stipulates a two-year deadline for its implementation.
