Written answers
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Department of Education and Skills
State Examinations Issues
Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way many leaving certificate students received an exemption from Irish from 2008 to 2012; the number of those students who studied another language other than Irish and English; the stage at which the review of the 12/96 circular announced in 2006 is at; and the efforts made by his Department between 2008 and 2012 to reduce the number of students receiving an exemption from Irish. [11754/13]
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The information requested by the Deputy on students for the Leaving Certificate receiving an exemption from the study of Irish in the years 2008 to 2012 is contained in the following table. For the years 2008 to 2012, the granting of exemptions from the study of Irish at post-primary was provided for in limited circumstances as per the exemption criteria in departmental circular M10/94. This continues to be the position. Under the circular the authority to grant an exemption has been delegated to school authorities. An exemption may only be granted where the student's circumstances comply with the exemption criteria. While work has previously been done in relation to revising the exemptions circular, the issues involved are complex and it is clear that we need to gather more detailed evidence on the manner in which exemptions are sought and granted before issuing a revised circular. As announced towards the end of 2012, my Department will carry out research with a view to comprehensively informing further policy actions in this area.
The number of Leaving Certificate* students in each school year from 2008/09 to 2012/13 receiving an exemption from the study of Irish by reason for exemption in accordance with the criteria in Departmental Circular M10/94
| Schools year | Circumstances in which exemption from the study of Irish were granted | No of students granted an Exemption in each school year | No of students receiving exemptions which were also enrolled for at least one Modern European Language# |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Students from abroad who have no understanding of English when enrolled | 1,182 | 770 |
| 2012 | Students whose primary education up to 11 years of age was received in Northern Ireland or outside of Ireland | 221 | 156 |
| 2012 | Students with a learning disability as provided for in paragraph 1(c ) of the circular | 578 | 321 |
| 2012 | Students re-enrolling after a period of at least three years abroad | 42 | 31 |
| 2012 | Total in all categories | 2,023 | 1,278 |
| 2011 | Students from abroad who have no understanding of English when enrolled | 1,109 | 704 |
| 2011 | Students whose primary education up to 11 years of age was received in Northern Ireland or outside of Ireland | 230 | 154 |
| 2011 | Students with a learning disability as provided for in paragraph 1(c ) of the circular | 660 | 379 |
| 2011 | Students re-enrolling after a period of at least three years abroad | 25 | 17 |
| 2011 | Total in all categories | 2,024 | 1,254 |
| 2010 | Students from abroad who have no understanding of English when enrolled | 1,675 | 735 |
| 2010 | Students whose primary education up to 11 years of age was received in Northern Ireland or outside of Ireland | 356 | 142 |
| 2010 | Students with a learning disability as provided for in paragraph 1(c ) of the circular | 1,153 | 246 |
| 2010 | Students re-enrolling after a period of at least three years abroad | 53 | 11 |
| 2010 | Total in all categories | 3,237 | 1,134 |
| 2009 | Students from abroad who have no understanding of English when enrolled | 1,689 | 895 |
| 2009 | Students whose primary education up to 11 years of age was received in Northern Ireland or outside of Ireland | 242 | 155 |
| 2009 | Students with a learning disability as provided for in paragraph 1(c ) of the circular | 533 | 260 |
| 2009 | Students re-enrolling after a period of at least three years abroad | 18 | 18 |
| 2009 | Total in all categories | 2,482 | 1,328 |
| 2008 | Students from abroad who have no understanding of English when enrolled | 1,939 | 772 |
| 2008 | Students whose primary education up to 11 years of age was received in Northern Ireland or outside of Ireland | 286 | 251 |
| 2008 | Students with a learning disability as provided for in paragraph 1(c ) of the circular | 442 | 271 |
| 2008 | Students re-enrolling after a period of at least three years abroad | 27 | 20 |
| 2008 | Total in all categories | 2,694 | 1,314 |
* Leaving Certificate includes student in years 1 and 2 of the established Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP),
Leaving Certificate Applied and those repeating the Leaving Certificate.
# Modern European Language refers to French, German, Spanish and Italian.
The data has been extracted from the October Returns of student entrolled as at the 30th September for each school year as provided by post-primary schools to the Department.
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