Dáil debates
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
State Examinations
9:10 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of reasonable accommodations for State exams. There are obviously a large number of students who have recently arrived to Ireland. They have rightly been encouraged to engage in our education system. Many of these students fall into the category of learners of English as an additional language, EAL. I think primarily of students from Ukraine, but also those who recently arrived from other places and whose level of English would not be sufficient to succeed in the State exam environment without additional support. The State Examinations Commission allows the use of an approved dictionary during the exam. Students in many second level schools completed the junior certificate and leaving certificate mock exams prior the February mid-term break. The experience is daunting enough for many students. How daunting must it be for someone with a beginner level of English?
I was contacted by a teacher from Coláiste Bríde in Enniscorthy, County Wexford - with which the Minister of State is probably familiar - who described it as a humiliating experience for the students involved. She is right. Let us think through the practical, or maybe more impractical, process that has to be followed to answer a leaving certificate examination using a dictionary. Some students will have to translate every word of the question, every word of the comprehension and every word of the case study in order to understand what is required. If they gain an understanding of the question, they then have to repeat the same painstaking process of using the dictionary to translate every word of their answer. It is an impossible task. The dictionary is utterly useless for these students. There are so many other options available to help these students. We need to move away from supplying dictionaries to a more tech-savvy and user-friendly way of helping students with the language barrier.
The students in question will have prior knowledge of many different subjects from their education in their previous countries of residence, but when they arrive here, the system is making matters unnecessarily difficult. Circumstances are already difficult enough for people fleeing war. If we can remove the language barrier, we can properly assess their knowledge and allow them to proceed within the Irish education system and have a positive experience. The Department of Education recognises the need for additional support in schools for these students. Special hours are given to EAL support, which many schools have availed of. However, it seems to me that the supports are removed once it comes to sitting the exam. This makes absolutely no sense.
I commend all of those in County Wexford who are involved in EAL support. I mentioned Coláiste Bríde. I have also been contacted by St. Mary's CBS in Enniscorthy and Ramsgrange Community School, of which I am a former pupil. I know that across the 23 secondary schools in County Wexford great efforts are being made regarding English as an additional language. We just need the Department of Education to review the supports available at exam time. I ask the Minister of State to advise the Minister of Education to develop a more user-friendly, 21st century solution to this problem in order to allow suitable and reasonable examination accommodations for students who have recently arrived and whose first language is not English.
James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is recognised that the curriculum at primary and post-primary is intended to be for all learners from all backgrounds, regardless of gender, socioeconomic background, race or creed. It aims to foster inclusivity where equality and diversity are promoted. Our education system, especially our schools, throughout the country supports, encourages and reflects diversity among our students, including with regard to language. The diverse nature of our society means that many of our schools have children and young people whose mother tongue is neither English nor Irish and whose home language is different from the language of instruction of the school. These children and young people, including but certainly not limited to those from Ukraine, may have particular language learning needs, which are referred to as EAL needs.
In the context of State examinations specifically, the State Examinations Commission, SEC, has responsibility for the operation, delivery and development of State examinations. As part of its remit, the SEC provides a scheme of reasonable accommodations at the certificate examinations, RACE, to support students with a complex variety of special educational needs. The focus of the scheme is on removing barriers to access while retaining the need to assess the same underlying skills and competencies as are assessed for all other students and to apply the same standards of achievement as apply to all other candidates. The scheme provides accommodations for students with a variety of complex special educational needs, including learning difficulties and permanent or temporary physical, visual, hearing, medical, sensory, emotional, behavioural or other conditions.
The provision of accommodations for students for whom English is an additional language and who otherwise have no special educational needs is the use of bilingual dictionaries. These are permitted by the SEC in State examinations other than in cases where examinations are in the candidate’s first language - a student whose first language is French will not be permitted to use the dictionary in the French examination - a language closely related to the candidate's first language, English or Irish. Given that it is the language being tested, allowing candidates to use dictionaries in these subjects would compromise the fundamental principle of fair assessment for certification. Bilingual translation dictionaries between the student's first language and English or Irish, without explanation of terms or definitions, are permitted. However, it is important to say that electronic bilingual dictionaries, translators, word lists or glossaries are not permitted. Again, this is to ensure fairness for all students as assessed by the SEC.
With regard to children and young people from Ukraine in our schools, the Department of Education is supporting schools in responses to these children and young people, especially through the regional education and language teams, REALT, across the country. In addition, the wide array of resources available includes information relating to free digital tools, including apps that can assist with text and voice translation, and the allocation of specialist resources to schools that take account of the needs of pupils, including, where appropriate, EAL.
The Deputy may also wish to note that in the leaving certificate examination Ukrainian, as a non-curricular language, is being developed by the SEC. The first examination will be available for students sitting the leaving certificate in June 2025.
9:20 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I appreciate that the Minister of State is here to answer on behalf of the Minister for Education. We are approaching the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. More than 100,000 refugees fleeing that war have come here, 18,000 of whom are students in our schools. Would it not be an appropriate tribute to say that we recognise their pain, that they have left their friends and families behind and that their worry is our worry. We can make life safer and easier. Maybe that would send a message that we value their being here, that we look forward to their being part of Ireland's future and that we will assist their integration by ensuring that all the necessary supports for English as a second language are in place. We could think a bit more about that. The Minister of State might pass that message back.
Another serious issue has arisen in respect of SET hours. Last week, the Department of Education announced significant changes to the allocation of special education supports for schoolchildren. These changes are to include the removal of complex needs as one of the eligibility criteria for special education teachers. This change will impact the most vulnerable children in our communities and schools. Numerous parents of children with autism and Down's syndrome have contacted me. They are already exhausted as a result of the fight to access assessments and supports for their children. They are now being told that their children may be denied special education supports in school. The announced changes that are due in September represent a major step backwards in the context of inclusivity for special needs children in mainstream education. I ask that the Minister immediately reverse that decision and that instead of cutting teachers' hours for special education, she move to improve and increase these supports in schools.
James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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This Government can be very proud of the support it has shown to Ukraine and to Ukrainians who have come here. We offer some of the best supports of any country in the European Union. Our supports in the educational system have, quite frankly, been extraordinary. Few other countries in Europe can show the level of integration and supports that have been provided to Ukrainian children in Ireland. I have visited several other European countries to see and hear about the supports they have provided. The Government is very much aware that children and young people whose mother tongue is neither English nor Irish and whose home language is different from the language of the instruction of the school, especially those from Ukraine, may have particular language learning needs. The Government is proud of the fact that our educational system, schools, teachers and education partners continue to respond to the needs of these students who have particular language learning requirements.
I have outlined some of the supports that the Department provides to schools in their immediate responses to children and young people, especially those from Ukraine. They take into account the needs of students including, where appropriate, EAL. As part of its remit, the SEC provides the RACE scheme in order to support with a complex variety of special educational needs. This scheme assists students who have special educational needs to demonstrate what they know and can do in certificate examinations without compromising the integrity of the assessment and ensuring fairness for all students. Earlier, I outlined the accommodations under the RACE scheme for students for whom English is an additional language but who do not have special educational needs.
In the context of teaching and learning, the primary resource to inform teaching and learning for all children and young people, including those with EAL needs, is the curriculum from primary school right up to senior cycle in post-primary schools. Additional resources are designed to complement the curriculum. Teaching and learning resources are available from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the National Educational Psychological Service and Oide, which is a support service for teachers and school leaders. Post-Primary Languages Ireland provides a dedicated resource in this regard as well.