Vol. 447 No. 1
327 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Education if he will give details of the extra examination fees for repeat leaving certificate students; the reason for these fees; the cost of setting and examining the average student's papers; in view of the fact that many students repeat due to the lack of jobs, sickness at examination time and other such reasons, if there is a means processing `hardship'. [2999/94]
1. The current entry fee payable in respect of a student who remains at school to repeat the Leaving Certificate examination is £120. A Course Fee of £100 is also payable in respect of such students.
2. The entry fee payable by first-time candidates for the Leaving Certificate is £44. A higher fee is charged to repeat candidates because they have already benefited from the normal course of post-primary schooling and it is considered reasonable that those who wish to take an extra year should be asked to make an extra contribution towards the cost of providing the necessary resources.
3. Each student who sits the Leaving Certificate Examination costs my Department, on average, about £120.
4. The fees payable by examination candidates may be reduced or waived entirely where payment would cause hardship. In the case of a repeat student whose parent or guardian is the holder of a current medical card, the Course Fee is waived and the entry fee payable is reduced to a maximum of £44. At the discretion of the school authority, the entry fee may be reduced still further in the case of necessitous pupils subject to a maximum amount notified to each school or Vocational Education Committee by my Department. A sum of £394,000 was allocated by my Department for this purpose in 1994.
School authorities are advised that, for the purposes of alleviation of fees, a necessitous pupil may be defined as a child from a home where genuine hardship exists because of: unemployment; prolonged illness of parent; large family with inadequate means; single parent; more than one child doing the Certificate Examinations; other circumstances which would denote a similar degree of domestic financial hardship.
5. A candidate who was unable to complete the examination because of illness would not, at his or her next attempt, be regarded as a repeat candidate for the purpose of additional fees.
