Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before and after Christmas, I was contacted by many students, in particular, from the Irish Secondary-Level Students' Union. They were concerned about the plans or lack of plans for the leaving certificate at that point. As a former teacher and a parent, I could fully appreciate their panic because of the ongoing uncertainty. At that time, before any decisions were taken, I suggested a hybrid model, which is basically what we have here today. This approach gives students some choice, flexibility and certainty.

I believe the Minister has brought forward good legislation and that she has learned from the mistakes made last year. That is important. Many of the different viewpoints of students, teachers, principals and parents have been taken on board in the legislation, and that too is positive. The Bill and the changes to the leaving certificate examination system brought about by Covid give us an opportunity to assess the examination system we have in place and to ask ourselves if it meets the needs of all involved in the process of education and, especially, if it gives our students the opportunity to reach their potential.

As a former mathematics teacher, I was always largely in favour of a final examination. For many years, I corrected exam papers and could see at first hand the impartiality and objectivity of the process. Even in the correction of maths papers, there was always room for professional judgment. Many students believe the role of correctors is to take marks away but giving marks is what correcting is all about. If there is nothing on the script, a corrector cannot give marks. However, if a reasonable or partly reasonable attempt has been made, students could easily get three out of ten, which is 30%, and that is just to begin with.

I am deviating from the legislation but I say this because I know many students are under real pressure right now. They are concerned about the time they have missed and parts of the course they may not have fully covered during class time. There are a hundred other individual reasons students may feel pressurised. I want those students to know that those who correct their exams are there to give them marks. Correctors have to be objective and fair but the majority are teachers and fully understand the circumstances that all students face when they sit exams. I say to students that correctors are their allies and if they can, they should give the correctors something to work with.

I come back to the lessons we, including me, can learn from the last two years. I do not believe we can go back to the old leaving certificate format. I know it is a huge extra burden for teachers, schools and principals. I know it will require a certain amount of training and upskilling but I think some form of continuous assessment in all subjects, alongside project work, practical work, oral work and a final examination, would be a better option. It would certainly be an interim option.

An examination largely guarantees an objective result on the day but only on the day. All the learning of two to three years leads up to that day. Nonetheless, a student may not give of his or her best on the day for many reasons. Continuous assessment has many positives but it also has challenges. If we are to go down that road, consultation with teachers and their unions, as well as students and schools will be paramount. Just today, I was speaking to a school principal who said the discussion in the staff room this morning was of the fact that every student is really stressed over every assessment. It is like a mini leaving certificate for them. All of this has to be taken into consideration. There is no magic bullet.

Teachers, year heads and school principals deserve our support and recognition for the work undertaken this year and last year to ensure we had a calculated grades process.

A completely new system was thrust upon them and like some of our front-line staff, they undertook this important work with the seriousness, commitment and objectivity it deserved.

The past 18 months have seen a shift in the tectonic plates of education, with students, teachers, individual schools and parents making a much stronger contribution to putting in place a system that allows students the best possible opportunity to achieve and grow in the current difficult circumstances. There can be no going back to the old ways. Education has become much more participatory and that trend must continue.

As already stated, I am very supportive of the Bill. Prohibited communication, or canvassing as we know it, is dealt with in a transparent and fair way. The sanctions are very tough, but they need to be, so that people will not be tempted to try to influence the situation. We all know the leaving certificate is important. In fact, we make it far too important. It is a milestone on the journey, it is not our destination, but because of the importance we attach to the exam it is crucial that every effort is made to discourage lobbying. If it starts at all, even in limited circumstances, it totally undermines the objectivity of the exam. We must be honest about it, if there is even a hint or a rumour of canvassing and that it might influence the result, it will snowball and create dissent and distrust and do untold damage to the exam system. For that reason, sanctions need to be severe and we all need to be aware of the impact of any effort to influence outcomes.

I am pleased that the standardisation process used last year has been modified, that rankings have been discontinued and that school profiling will not play any part in determining individual results.

One final point is that the Minister needs to look again at contingency measures and be prepared for unexpected situations that may arise, for example, due to public health measures, local lockdowns or an outbreak of Covid in a class or a school. Students may have to self-isolate because they were unwittingly a close contact. I understand there can only be a certain number of safety nets, but if Covid has taught us anything, it has taught us that we need to be flexible and agile and that we need a plan C as well as a plan B. I ask the Minister to look at that again.

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