The leaving certificate examination is the defining moment in any young person's life and how he or she performs impacts significantly on his or her life thereafter. For this reason, it is imperative that every student gets a fair crack of the whip. Because I believe the student at the centre of this debate is not being given a fair chance, I sought to raise the matter. I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to do so.
The circumstances surrounding this student's case only came to my attention in recent days. I was approached when the student, his parents and his school had exhausted all other avenues. I raise the case not because I believe the student should be treated more favourably than any other in similar circumstances but because a mistake has been made in dealing with his application, which should be corrected. I have raised this matter with officials in the Minister's office and with an official in the examination office in Athlone, all to no avail. I understand the proffered reasons they cannot accede to the request for special concessions, but I do not accept them as valid as they are based on an incorrect premise, which I will explain.
First, the student in question was referred to a senior psychologist to evaluate his current level of intellectual functioning. His scores on the Ravens standard progressive matrices indicate that he is functioning within the superior range of intelligence. The psychologist recommended that concessions be made by the Department of Education and Science in respect of his leaving certificate, but these have been refused.
Second, the student's performance in the junior certificate is at variance with somebody identified as within the superior range of intelligence. This clearly indicates a specific learning difficulty and failure to recognise this is nothing short of discrimination. Third, during the Department's evaluation of this student's application for special arrangements in the form of extra time for his examinations a departmental official, whose name I will provide to the Minister, if necessary, indicated to a teacher in the school concerned, who was responsible for presenting the application on behalf of the school, that the student's need could be served by using a dictaphone or tape recorder. This is implicit recognition of his difficulty and the Minister should consider this development carefully. The student, having no experience of the technology, found it unsuitable and intimidating – a hindrance rather than a help. This is also the professional view of the school and teacher involved. This is the fault line in the Department's decision.
Fourth, I understand the Department has circulars, policy statements, pilot schemes, expert review groups and independent appeals systems which impact on this area. It may be difficult to comprehend but I firmly believe a mistake has been made in this case, which should be rectified. The evidence I outlined supports this view. The pilot scheme to be introduced in this year's leaving certificate, whereby an optional extra 20 minutes will be available to all students, has been presented to me in discussions with departmental officials as a partial solution to this student's problem in any event. However, it is far from one. Notwithstanding that this optional extra 20 minutes applies only to Irish, English, history and geography, it will merely accentuate his difficulty in so far as mainstream students will use the additional time to polish their scripts, raise the overall standard of results and, thus, put greater pressure on all students in circumstances similar to those of the student under consideration in this debate.
This student and all similar students need additional time over and above that of mainstream students. The other subjects he is taking in the leaving certificate not covered by the pilot scheme, namely biology and business organisation, require a great deal of writing and will exacerbate an already difficult situation. I ask the Minister of State to revisit this case urgently. Not just an examination, but in all likelihood, a lifetime rests in the balance.