Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

On the morning of 3 June 2009 a superintendent distributed in error the leaving certificate English paper 2 which was scheduled for the following morning, 4 June. When he realised his error he immediately retrieved the incorrect papers and distributed the correct papers. The State Examinations Commission was notified of the problem at exactly 3.55 p.m. by the principal of the school. The commission immediately took steps to establish whether the contents of the paper had become known and security compromised. My Department was notified of the position at approximately 5 p.m. that day.

The commission concluded from its investigation that the integrity of the English paper 2 examination had been significantly compromised. As the commission could not guarantee that the correct supply of contingency papers would be delivered to 100% of the over 2,000 leaving certificate examination centres by 9 a.m. the next day, there was no option but to re-schedule the paper. The examination was rescheduled and held on Saturday, 6 June.

The core responsibility of superintendents is to safeguard the security and integrity of the examination papers. They are provided with detailed instructions to assist them in the discharge of their duties. Support and training is provided for any superintendents who have not engaged in this work before. There are clear and comprehensive documented procedures to be gone through to ensure the correct paper is distributed for each session of the examination process. In this case, none of the documented procedures were carried out correctly by the superintendent.

I asked the State Examinations Commission to investigate the matter fully, to report on the circumstances that required the rescheduling of the exam and the measures needed to address any weaknesses identified and to minimise the risk of any future recurrence. I am due to receive the report tomorrow. I will arrange to have the report placed on my Department's website when I have had the opportunity to consider its contents.

I fully appreciate that the re-scheduling of the examination, although unavoidable, gave rise to distress and inconvenience for students. Both the commission and I have apologised to students and their families in media broadcasts for the inconvenience caused. I take this opportunity to apologise again for what was a stressful disruption in the examination process. In addition, I thank school management, principals and staff, and Bus Éireann and school transport providers for their excellent co-operation and organisation, which ensured the re-scheduled examination ran smoothly. I particularly thank the school principals whose support was assumed and was, most generously, given.

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