As a major conference begins this morning on reform of the LeavingCertificate, the Education Minister says radical changes are now requiredand it's time we asked pupils for their input writes Noel Dempsey, Minister for Education and Science.

The recently published OECD data highlights the success of the Irish education system in preparing students for lifelong learning and social and economic participation. However, we live in an era of rapid change, and our system must continue to evolve in order to maintain quality, relevance and responsiveness in a changing world. In short, we must visualise and plan for the education system that will serve us in tomorrow's world.

EU enlargement, more competition, globalisation, the knowledge society and an increasingly multi-cultural population are all factors which need to be taken into account.

We know that Ireland's future economic growth and competitiveness will increasingly depend on the extent to which it can support high-value, knowledge-based industries. We have also seen the rapid growth in the services sector, and a decline in more traditional areas of employment. Apart from supporting industry, our schools play a more fundamental part in shaping tomorrow's citizens, and in helping to build the foundation for an egalitarian and cohesive society

Experiences in school, depending on whether they are positive or negative, can either open a pathway to opportunities, or lead to a lifetime of marginalisation and poverty. Tackling disadvantage and its inter-generational effects is of central concern in educational policy, and we must ensure that more young people remain in school to completion of senior-cycle education.

While curricular reforms, extra support services and strategies to address disadvantage have had their successes, the fact remains that, in spite of doubling our investment in education in the period from 1997 to 2002, retention rates remain virtually unchanged. Some 18 per cent of our young people continue to leave school without completing upper second-level education.

The developing Educational Welfare Service, the Educational Psychological Service, the increased focus on special-needs provision and the continuing targeting of flexible funds towards well-planned strategies in schools in disadvantaged areas will all play an important part in addressing this issue. However, there may be a need for more radical reform, if those who are alienated from the current system are to be encouraged and motivated to stay in school.

We also need to take account of the changing population in Ireland and the fact that we now have children from over 100 different nationalities attending Irish schools. A further factor is that the Educational Welfare Act envisages that some young people in the 16 to 18 year age group may choose to attend school or training and work.

Our school system, in the future, will be challenged to provide for more flexibility and diversity by design, and to place learners, and their varying needs, at the heart of provision. One size does not fit all, and we have to focus more clearly on ensuring that our education system caters effectively for differing needs, particularly those of the most marginalised.

I am pleased that the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA), who host today's conference, has undertaken such a wide consultation process and am particularly heartened at the large number of responses from students. It is vitally important that they should have a voice in the overall shaping of the future direction of our system.

Irish students now mature earlier, many of them work part time and they assume levels of responsibility and have to cope with societal pressures which were uncommon when I was a student. Their journey from adolescence to adulthood needs to be respected and reflected in a changing relationship within schools in terms of their voice in decision-making, their level of choice in programmes and subjects studied and the emergence of more adult relationships with teaching staff. This sense of respect and belonging is vitally important in encouraging students to stay in school and in motivating them to learn.

Of course, of equal importance is the relevance of curricula offered and the appropriateness of the teaching and assessment methods used. We know that choice is important also in engaging students' interests and that curricular options should be as open as possible so that career decisions do not have to be made at a very young age.

A concern throughout Europe is that all young people should have acquired a core set of basic skills by the time they leave school. These are generally perceived to be good literacy/numeracy, communications, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, teamwork, research and evaluation skills and the values and knowledge for responsible citizenship. Some debates also call for the acquisition of two languages in addition to the mother tongue, as well as scientific literacy, entrepreneurial skills and ICT skills.

More fundamentally, the concern is to ensure that all pupils have acquired the skills of "learning to learn" that can be applied throughout their lives.

How to embed these core skills in the system, avoid curriculum and assessment overload, move away from the dominance of written terminal examinations in the final period of schooling and do better justice to students' full range of learning experiences are all concerns which have surfaced in the Irish debate.

I welcome the fact that the responses to the recent NCCA survey show there is an overwhelming demand for change, particularly in regard to more student-centred, applied and experiential learning approaches, and for radical change in assessment methods.

There is a strong demand for more practical and portfolio modes of assessment, for more flexibility and for more regular assessment opportunities throughout programmes. We all know that assessment processes exert a key influence on classroom practice and we must ensure a consistency between the aims of reform, the curricula, the range of teaching methodologies and assessment modes that are used.

It is important to acknowledge the level of change which has already occurred in the Irish system - in terms of new syllabi, new programmes, use of information technology, changing culture in schools, enhanced parental and community links, improved planning and more emphasis on extra supports for children at risk etc. These changes have been embraced with commitment and enthusiasm, and have shown the adaptability and professionalism of our teachers.

Irish students continue to perform well in international terms, and we must build further on these strengths in moving forward. I believe we need to plan systematically for the future and to make sure that change is learner-centred, strategic and effective. Also that we work in partnership to provide a better future and a more inclusive system for our young population.

Our learners are entitled to expect nothing less from us.