Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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301. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when her Department will issue the 2020 leaving certificate result certificates (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36111/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The decision by my Department to adopt a model of Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades in 2020 was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations last year. The purpose of this process was to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education.

Leaving Certificate students were given the option of receiving Calculated Grades for the subjects they were studying.

Students were also able to sit the 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations last November and December when it was safe for these examinations to proceed.

The results of the Calculated Grades process issued on 7 September 2020. Candidates had access to a Calculated Grades appeals process, which has now concluded.

The postponed Leaving Certificate written examinations commenced on 16 November 2020 and concluded on 11 December 2020. The provisional results of these examinations were issued by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) on 2 February 2021. Students who sat the postponed examinations also had access to all of the elements of the normal examinations appeals process including viewing of marked scripts; re-marking and access to Independent Appeals Scrutineers, which has recently concluded.

In any subject where a candidate sat the postponed written examination and had received Calculated Grades, their final Leaving Certificate result in that subject will be the better of the two results. This information was provided to the CAO on behalf of candidates and will be reflected on their final certificates.

Under the Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Act 2021, which has been recently enacted, the SEC now has the legal power to issue the final 2020 Leaving Certificates to candidates. As the SEC’s engagement with examination candidates is primarily though school authorities, the SEC, as in any normal year, is reliant on schools to distribute these certificates to candidates. Arrangements are being made for the 2020 Leaving Certificate to be issued in the first term of the new school year.

In the meantime, the SEC can, under the powers recently assigned to it, provide certified statements of Leaving Certificate results combining the results of both processes, showing the candidate’s final results, including, as appropriate, results which are the better of examinations and calculated grades, to candidates on request.