Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The leaving certificate and junior certificate examinations have just finished and I wish candidates all the best with their results. I am concerned about a recent statement issued by the State Examinations Commission to the effect that there is a serious shortage of examination markers or examiners, particularly in mathematics, Irish and language subjects in general.

In a different life, I was a leaving certificate examiner and most of the people I worked with would have been experienced teachers of the subjects they were examining, as well as being experienced in actual examining, for which they were well trained. I note that the advertisement for examiners now states that retired and newly-qualified teachers are eagerly sought by the commission. While I have the absolute height of respect for retired teachers and young teachers who are just out of college, it is worrying that leaving certificate students would not be exposed, in the marking of their papers, to high-quality, experienced examiners.

The shortage is directly attributable to the very low rates of remuneration for examiners and the huge workload involved. It is a very serious task. It involves a number of days at a training conference and around three weeks' work during the summer months. It is very tough work and it is very poorly paid.

Our students deserve the best and should be given every chance to succeed and to receive proper marking. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of Education and Skills to make a statement on how this situation has arisen and why it was not forecast. It seems to have come out of the blue. The leaving certificate was just finished when this shortage was flagged. I am sure that many students and teachers around the country are quite worried about it.