Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2020
395. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the entire 2020 cohort of leaving certificate students should be entitled to resit the exam at any stage in their lives at no cost, including the cost of tuition through further education and so on in recognition of the disruption to the tuition of the school year. [6923/20]
View answerEvery effort was made to run the 2020 Leaving Certificate as close as possible to the way the examinations were originally intended to be held. However, based on medical advice and other assessments, that the Leaving Certificate examinations cannot be held in a reliable and valid manner, nor in a way that would be equitable for students.
All students will be given the option to receive a State Certificate of Calculated Grades in each subject. It will have the same status as Leaving Certificates awarded to students in previous years.
Students will also have the opportunity to sit the Leaving Certificate examination if they wish at the earliest safe and practical time. The examination fee will be waived in this case.
Students who opt to sit the Leaving Certificate examinations at a later stage and who receive an improved CAO offer on foot of these results will also receive a deferred college offer to start their course in the 2021/22 academic year. If a candidate who has started first year of a course becomes entitled to a higher CAO offer and chooses to accept same in the following academic year, attendance for the first year on the new course would remain eligible for free fees and SUSI funding as appropriate.
