Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

The State Examinations Commission was established as an independent agency in 2003 to deal with all operational issues relating to State examinations. The Minister does not have a role in the selection criteria for the appointment of superintendents of State examinations. The State Examinations Commission has provided me with the following information. During the period of the written examinations each June much of the integrity of the examination process depends on the manner in which superintendents perform their assigned tasks. It is a critical role, one that has been performed with excellence, skill and dedication by thousands of superintendents during the years.

Superintendents have a range of important duties during a three week period in June. These include the safe custody of the examination papers and completed examination scripts and the safe and proper conduct of each day's examinations in line with the rules and procedures laid down by the State Examinations Commission.

Some 4,700 superintendents have been appointed by the State Examinations Commission to almost 750 second level schools for the 2012 examinations. This does not include almost 9,000 superintendents appointed locally by schools, mindful of the specific needs of each individual student, to supervise students with special educational needs. Typically, examination superintendents are drawn from the pool of unemployed, serving and retired teachers. They are appointed each year by the State Examinations Commission through public advertisement in the national newspapers, by issuing last year's superintendents with an application form and providing supplies of application forms for all post-primary schools. Examinations centres can accommodate up to 50 examination candidates.

In the main, the State Examinations Commission appoints experienced teachers as examination superintendents. There is a long-standing policy of appointing unemployed and substitute teachers before drawing on other applicants. It is considered that teachers' classroom management skills and experience of working with young people are equally required for the effective conduct of the examination superintending duties. For reasons of examination integrity, superintendents are not assigned to their own school, any school in which they have taught in the previous five years, any centre in which they have a relative sitting an examination or within a 16 km radius of their home address.

I hope I have responded adequately to the Deputy's concerns.

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