Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The State Examinations Commission is responsible for the operation, delivery and development of the State examinations. The SEC is very aware, as am I as Minister, of the challenges of the timing of the oral examinations for students, parents and education partners.

Prior to the pandemic, the oral examinations in any given year were held either before or after the Easter holidays, depending on how early or late Easter fell in that particular year. Following Covid, in 2022, the full oral examinations took place outside of school time over the first week of the Easter holidays. This change in timing was made in response to the need to take steps to limit teacher absences from schools given challenges associated with sourcing substitute teachers. It was intended also to minimise further disruption to teaching and learning in schools and, in particular, for those candidates preparing for their examinations.

The SEC was requested to undertake an evaluation of the 2022 experience of holding oral and music practical examinations at Easter to advise me on future implementation. That was at my request. Following preliminary review, the SEC advised that the arrangements that applied in 2022 in respect of oral examinations in Irish and the modern foreign languages should continue for a further year in 2023 pending a more comprehensive evaluation. In 2023, it was possible to deliver these examinations for all candidates within the Easter holiday period due to the positive response to the SEC’s recruitment efforts. I thank all the staff who engaged so positively with that recruitment process to ensure there was a sufficiency of examiners.

Nonetheless, the SEC has noted it is aware of the mixed views of stakeholders about the timing of these examinations. In that regard, the SEC progressed a more extensive evaluation to fully assess the impact of holding the oral examinations at Easter. This has included research to explore parent, student, teacher, examiner and school leadership opinions about the timing of these examinations. Following completion of this wider evaluation process, the SEC will provide advice to my Department on the future timing of the leaving certificate oral examinations going forward. In the interim, the SEC considered it preferable to extend the Easter holiday timing for a further year and to mirror the arrangements that applied in 2023 again in 2024. These arrangements include additional resources for school authorities and an Easter premium payable to examiners.

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