From top: Minister for Education Norma Foley; Department of Education briefing note
Last night/This morning.
Mandarin Chinese using simplified script was introduced as a new subject on the Leaving Cert curriculum in 2019. Ireland is the only country to refuse to accept traditional script.
Via RTÉ
Controversy already surrounds the new exam over a ban on traditional Chinese characters, used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, in favour of China’s simplified script, which the Department said was more suitable for beginners.
RTÉ has learnt that the Department of Education signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ministry of Education agreeing “support for implementation of the Leaving Certificate curriculum, particularly in relation to teacher supply and teacher training”.
In response to a request for a copy of the agreement and minutes of a meeting with Chinese officials in July 2019, a Department spokesperson said that the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Chinese Embassy would first need to be consulted “to ensure there is no objection to the release” and in order to “maintain codes of good practice and courtesy.”
Some academics argue that the Communist Party has an interest in promoting its script above alternative writing systems because they provide a gateway to diverse political and historical narratives, at odds with its own.
New questions over China’s role in Leaving Cert exam (RTÉ)
Meanwhile…
Tks to Irish Examiner:
“they don’t say this abt French or Spanish or German… excluding a regional dialect of Irish from the LC…would never happen, but the department is saying this abt Chinese.”It is DISCRIMINATION. https://t.co/ZUydRFpoJ2@NormaFoleyTD1 @joeliveline
— LCMC Concern Group (@ChineseIreland) August 10, 2021
In Singapore, only Simplified Chinese script is taught in schools. It’s the way it’s always been. It’s much more practical and more likely to lead to students gaining a better overall comprehension of the language. I think in the case of Irish leaving cert, people are being too suspicious.about possible alterior motives of the Chinese Ministry of Education in endorsing Simplified Chinese. At the end of the day, it’s their language!
If it’s the defacto script for 1.3 billion China mainlanders, realistically, it’s not practical (for Irish school learning) to apply any emphasis to versions of Mandarin that are written in Hong Kong or Taiwan. If Singaporeans think that traditional Chinese is a total nightmare (and it is), then surely it’s not worth the effort for Irish students.
The political angle must be detached from this arguement.