Dáil debates

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Topical Issue Debate

State Examinations

4:00 pm

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me raise this matter and I thank also the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, for being present. This matter impacts on a small number of students. Believe it or not, I first raised this on 11 March 1999 and I am back again today on it. I have been reminded of it because of a specific case, which I do not want to go into, of a young man who is doing the leaving certificate but who is quite ill and may not be able to sit two papers on the same day because he is so ill.

The debate is a little wider than that. Some 57,000 students are sitting the leaving certificate this year and I take the opportunity to wish them well. However, roughly less than 1% of those would be what I would call "crisis" students. These are students who, during the leaving certificate examination period, either suffer a bereavement or have a serious accident or get seriously ill which prevents them from sitting one subject or a number of subjects.

The suggestion is quite simple, that within four to six weeks of not being able to sit the examination for one of these reasons, these students would be facilitated to sit the examination. It would not be a re-sit because they would not have sat the exam. If they were to take part in the original examination process, they would not be able to go ahead.

I believe the number of students involved would be relatively small, perhaps a few hundred, but it could make all the difference for them.

It would mean they would not have to repeat the whole year, something they might have to do if they are not given this opportunity. The logistics are not too demanding. Students could go to a regional centre. There need not be too many regional centres throughout the country. I imagine four centres would be enough. Students would be willing to travel. Teachers and examiners are available. A back-up paper is available for each subject as well. All the logistical reasons against doing this can be countered. It would make a great difference to these students because they would not lose a full year. Many of these students would have worked remarkably hard but, through no fault of their own, they have been hit with this wall. I imagine the Minister of State will agree that if, during a leaving certificate examination, a close member of a student's family passes away, whether a parent of a sibling, it is difficult to expect that student to sit the examination. If that student has worked hard all year and is depending on the points attained in the examination to get a place in college, the choice is to repeat the whole year or settle for something a good deal less than what is merited. This issue should be considered from a humanitarian point of view. I realise it is too late for this year but something should be done for next year.

Another factor was brought to my attention in 1999 when I first raised this matter. If we give students no choice but to repeat the whole year and if the issue is a bereavement, then they would sit the examination on the anniversary of the death of a loved one, something we should try to avoid if possible. The solution I propose will help in many ways. No great additional cost is involved. It can be managed easily in an administrative sense. I call on the Minster to examine the possibility constructively and not to dismiss it out of hand, as occurred in 1999 when I raised the matter previously. I await the Minister of State's response.

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. The State Examinations Commission was established as an independent agency in 2003 and has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. Every possible effort is made by the commission, within the limitations of our examination system, to accommodate candidates who suffer illness, bereavement or other trauma immediately before or during the examinations. Each year, arrangements are made to cater for a wide range of personal emergencies. These include alterations to the standard examination timetable and special sittings in venues such as hospitals. The National Educational Psychological Service also assists schools and examination candidates in crisis during examinations.

The terminal nature of the Irish examinations system, however, imposes some constraints on the degree to which the life experiences of individual candidates can be accommodated. The issue of repeat examinations was considered prior to the State Examinations Commission's establishment by the Department of Education and Skills. It was concluded that the constraints inherent in a terminal and externally examined examination system result in significant difficulties in respect of the provision of repeat examinations. These constraints derive from the length of the school year, the timescale required for holding examinations, providing adequate time for the preparation of marking schemes for repeat examination papers and arranging for the comprehensive briefing and training of examiners, providing ample time for those examiners to conduct the marking to a high standard, the pressing requirement of having results available to feed into the college entry process conducted by the Central Applications Office and college admissions departments in August each year and the need for an appeals system for the review of repeat results.

The State examinations are run against the tightest of timescales and to maximum capacity in delivering a high quality product at both leaving and junior certificate levels. It is not possible to hold repeat examinations and have results available to the deadlines required. Repeat examinations would not accommodate all the life experiences of individual candidates because not all candidates would be able to take the repeat examinations for one reason or another. Over the years the SEC has dealt with a great variety of individual cases. In the final analysis, it is difficult to envisage a fair, proper and impartial system of repeat examinations without allowing all candidates to repeat their tests.

Deputy Stanton may be referring to a specific case. The Deputy should note that the Minister's office tried to make contact with him today to establish if there are any specific matters which need to be addressed or brought to the attention of the SEC. I would be pleased to bring to the SEC's attention any specific case which the Deputy wishes to raise.

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. This issue relates to a small number of students, perhaps fewer than 400. They could be accommodated in four centres. The examiners have already been trained and briefed. I have been an examiner in years gone by. Most of the points made by the Minister of State can be refuted. When I brought up this issue in 1999 I received a response which was, almost word for word, the same. I congratulate whoever in the Department dug out that reply but it is neither here nor there.

This is an important humanitarian issue which we should make an effort to address and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to do so. It would not make a great demand on the system. It would only cater for a small number of students. It would not be a repeat examination because those involved would not have sat the examination previously because of illness or bereavement. I call on the Minister of State to use his political good offices. He should approach the State Examinations Commission and call on it to re-examine this issue and determine whether any change is possible. If we can help even one student who has suffered a bereavement, who has had a serious illness or accident and who must put his whole life on hold for 12 months through no fault of his own, then we should do so.

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the leaving certificate is a terminal examination, carried out by external examiners. This contrasts with examination systems in other countries where assessment is conducted on a continuous basis or takes place at regular intervals and where some of the assessment is conducted by the student's teachers.

It is an inevitable consequence of a terminal, point-in-time system, such as the system we have, that some candidates will take certain tests at a time which they believe to be less than optimum. Each year the leaving certificate and junior certificate examinations give rise to many situations where real human needs, such as those highlighted by the Deputy, must be balanced by the requirement of equity for the general body of candidates. This is one of the greatest hurdles to be overcome in putting in place any system along the lines suggested by the Deputy. However, I would be more than willing to engage further with the Deputy in the coming weeks and to engage directly with the SEC to establish whether we could reassess the decision taken some time ago not to include the opportunity for repeat examinations for children or young people who experience trauma during examination time and to establish if any further progress can be made.