asked the Minister for Education what results of the Leaving Certificate examination have not yet been communicated to candidates for the 1965 examination; and if he will state (a) in respect of what subjects results have not yet been sent out, (b) the number of candidates affected who have not yet received results, and (c) what steps his Department are taking to give these candidates their results and enable them to receive their certificates.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Leaving Certificate Examination Results.
51.
The certificate examination results in respect of school candidates are communicated to the managers of the schools concerned. Results have not been issued for art in respect of ten Leaving Certificate candidates from one school or for history in respect of one Leaving Certificate candidate from another school.
The reason in all cases is that the candidates' worked answer books were lost either in transit or subsequently. In accordance with the Rules for Secondary Schools, a second examination in these subjects is being provided for the candidates concerned. My Department will hold these examinations as soon as the school managers concerned are in a position to arrange suitable dates.
Results will be furnished to the school manager within a very short time of the date of the examination in each case.
Is the Minister aware of the inconvenience being caused to these pupils who took this examination? Some of the pupils concerned have left the country. They are in jobs and are promising their employers that their Leaving Certificate will be available any day. Now they have to come back to this country to take this examination. In view of the fact that this was something outside the control of the pupils concerned, is it not right and proper that these certificates should be given to the pupils concerned and that they be given the benefit of the doubt in this matter because they will be seriously penalised because of this?
I am aware of only one of the students concerned being abroad and that student has arranged to return for this special examination. I doubt if the Deputy, on due consideration, would adhere to his suggestion that the certificate be awarded to the students without any knowledge of how they have done in the examination. While freely admitting that the matter was not their fault, nevertheless, it is not by any means certain that the fault was in the Department of Education. In order to illustrate this, I would point out that there were 113,000 answer books submitted by Leaving Certificate candidates and 197,000 answer books submitted by Intermediate Certificate candidates, involving a large number of people. While every effort is made to ensure that nothing goes wrong, the human factor must be taken into account, and the small number of cases where this has happened in relation to the total number involved indicates that the measures taken are as effective as one could hope.
Will consideration be given to the fact that these pupils have been out of school now for six or eight months and they may not be as up-to-date on the particular subjects as they were at the time they sat for the examination originally?
I think I should say that factor will be taken into account.
Will any compensation be given to the pupils concerned? It will cost the student to which the Minister referred about £20 to come back to this country to sit for that paper.
I cannot undertake that compensation will be paid in that case.