Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

220. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the legal controversy regarding the award of a contract for online marking by the State Examinations Commission; his plans to investigate the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4090/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) is the statutory body with responsibility for the operation of the State Certificate Examinations. The SEC has been working on plans to move from a paper-based to an on-line marking system for the examinations. On-line marking involves examiners viewing scanned images of candidate scripts on screen, (instead of looking at the original paper version). The scripts are scanned following receipt from the examination centres and thereafter are an electronic document. On-line examination marking of scanned examination scripts is widely used by almost all examinations boards in the UK.

I am advised by the SEC that it went to the market on 22nd December 2017 in order to procure a service provider to assist in the transition to on-line marking over the five year period 2018-2022. This was a public procurement process, operated under EU and national procurement regulations, for a Script Scanning and On-line Marking Solution for the state certificate examinations with the publication of a Request for Tender (RFT) on the eTenders website and in the Official Journal of the European Union. The deadline for submission of bids was 13 February 2018. Following a period of evaluation, the SEC notified the bidders in the process of the outcome on 28 March 2018. Bidders were notified that under EU rules a formal contract could not be put in place until at least 14 days had elapsed following the date of the notification. During the standstill period the SEC was notified of a legal challenge to the procurement process brought by one of the bidders to the process.

By placing a contract at the end of the mandatory standstill period, the delivery by the SEC of on-line marking at the planned level for the 2018 examinations was achievable. However, the interruption to these plans, as a result of the legal proceedings, resulted in the SEC cancelling plans to proceed with on-line marking for the 2018 state examinations and to collapse the procurement process for pragmatic reasons. Without a clear view of the likely duration or impact of the legal proceedings the SEC made this decision in order to safeguard the delivery of the 2018 examinations, as urgent arrangements had to be made to mark all examinations in a paper format, rather than some in a digital format as hadbeen planned.

The RFT was clear that no commitment of any kind, contractual or otherwise, existed until such time as a formal written contract had been executed by the SEC. The RFT was also clear that the SEC was within its rights to cancel the public procurement competition at any time prior to a formal written contract being put in place.

The SEC advises my Department that it rejects any assertion that there was any improper action on the part of the Commission or its officials during the tender process and that there was full compliance with all national and EU procurement regulations in all aspects of the process, including the decision to collapse the tender on pragmatic grounds. The matter of costs in the legal case have yet to be determined by the Courts.

The SEC is satisfied that it has acted correctly and appropriately in relation to this procurement process.

In late December 2018 the SEC returned to the market for a script scanning and on-line marking solution for the 2019 examinations, and for future years.