Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

The artworks and materials are already in schools so it would be no problem for families to get them back. Returning the items to students would save the SEC the difficulty of destroying them. The items should be returned be it needlework, painting or whatever and I can see no reason not to do so.

Another important issue is the rechecking of examination papers. Time and again I have encountered families who have sought a re-check but missed a course by the time an upgrade was granted. As a result, students end up in places as far flung as Aberdeen or end up doing a different course. In Britain, a re-check is done in such a timely fashion that it can be implemented in the same academic year. Perhaps the matter is outside the remit of Mr. Burke and is the responsibility of the Department of Education and Skills or perhaps the teachers' unions

It is very unfair that if someone gets a mark in an examination that they sit in a particular year and the grade is raised, it is not taken into consideration for the CAO offer of college places for that year. Surely, by the time the second round comes, it should be taken into account. That should definitely be addressed.

My next point is anecdotal and may not be correct. In the oral leaving certificate this year, I am told that one of the pieces might have been Donegal Irish. I do not know if that was the case. I do not know if there is a requirement in schools to do the various dialects, but if there is not, it is something that should be taken into consideration. It is unfair if a school in Kerry is carrying out the Irish through Gaeilge Mumhan and the students are faced with Gaeilge Chonnacht or Gaeilge Donegal. That may not be the case. One student told me that and I do not know how true it is.

I also have a small technical point before I go onto my main point. The changes to the travelling subsistence payment for supervisors this year were not articulated when they applied for the positions in the beginning. They were in the small print later and the supervisors were not given leeway like the correctors were. That has caused a bit of dissension.

My main point is particularly pertinent at leaving certificate level. After the teachers mark their examination papers, they send in their first batch. I do not know how it operates. There are 50 or 100, or whatever. I have been informed by correctors that very often the papers are returned to them and they are told to reduce the number of As or Bs. I can understand that if the standard of marking is too lenient and is not standardised but there is a strong view from correctors that this is the bell curve coming into existence. I have never been able to get to the bottom of this but there is an onus on the State Examinations Commission to publicly articulate not only the system of marking, but also the policy. I know for a fact that last year's junior certificate biology papers were returned to the markers, who were instructed to reduce the number of Cs. If it is a level playing field and everyone drops, that is fair, but I would hate to think that someone who might get a B in Kiltimagh would get an A in the same exam if they sat it in Gorey. I see Mr. Burke shaking his head to say that does not happen but I would like to know why this policy exists in that case. If it is because he is of the view that the marking is too lenient or too harsh, that is well and good, but the strong view I get from correctors is that the bell curve is coming into play. If that is the case it is unfair but the State Examinations Commission should articulate fully what the position is. I thank the Chairman for her indulgence.