Minister for Education Helen McEntee is correct to dismiss the proposal to drop the compulsory study of Shakespeare from the higher-level Leaving Certificate English syllabus. Her response recognised what the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s draft specification appeared to forget: the work of the world’s greatest dramatist is a central pillar of literary education.
The context makes this more pressing. International research has pointed to a worrying decline in reading ability across English-speaking countries, with falling comprehension and limited critical vocabulary. Why would any educational authority wish to hasten that process by reducing exposure to challenging and enriching literature?
There appears to be a pattern here. A few years ago, former education minister Joe McHugh overruled the same body’s recommendation that history should not be a core subject in the revised Junior Cycle syllabus. That earlier decision, like McEntee’s now, recognised the value of giving all students a firm grasp of the cultural and historical forces that shape their world. It is worth asking whether this impulse to sever connections with the past is truly in the interests of young people.
Supporters of the proposed change argue for flexibility and a broader range of modern voices. But the Leaving Certificate has already successfully widened its reach, giving space to more contemporary writers. There is no reason why such progress should come at Shakespeare’s expense.
RM Block
His plays demand rigorous engagement. They teach students to read closely, to follow complex arguments, to recognise ambiguity and debate conflicting interpretations. Their exploration of ambition, jealousy, love and power still resonates. And they anchor students in a literary tradition that informs everything that has followed.
The proposal the Minister rejected would have narrowed, not widened, horizons. Future revisions should build on the principle of a rich and inclusive syllabus that can add new voices without discarding the foundations on which literary education rests.
