Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The assessment requirements and components for Leaving Certificate subjects are set out in the subject specifications developed and published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The specification for Leaving Certificate Mandarin Chinese specification is designed for a minimum of 180 hours of class contact time and can be found at the following link: www.curriculumonline.ie/Senior-cycle/Senior-Cycle-Subjects/Mandarin-Chinese/.

The Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools require that in order to be eligible for admission to the established Leaving Certificate Examination a pupil must have followed an approved established Leaving Certificate course as a recognised senior pupil for not less than two years.

I am conscious that students who are due to take their Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022 have experienced a degree of disruption to their learning.

On 30 June, the Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations received an update in relation to the 2022 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations. Following this I announced that adjustments would be made to the 2022 examinations which are similar to those published in December 2020 in respect of Leaving Certificate 2021.

The adjustments document indicates the adjustments for Mandarin Chinese in the oral and written examination and can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/9c82d-leaving-certificate-2022/#assessment-arrangements-for-junior-and-leaving-certificate-2022 These adjustments will leave intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice for students in the examinations.