Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 February 2021
544. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education if the leaving certificate examination fee will be waived for 2021 given the extreme financial difficulties caused by Covid-19; if students who receive SEC-accredited grades will only be required to pay an examination fee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10572/21]
View answerOn 17 February, I confirmed that Leaving Certificate 2021 examinations will proceed and students will also have the alternative option of applying for grades accredited by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), to be known as SEC-Accredited Grades.
This decision follows intensive engagement with education stakeholders bilaterally and through the Planning for State Examinations 2021 Advisory Group and sub-group.
This decision ensures for every student a method to assess their learning and attainment at the end of their post-primary education and to progress to higher and further education, and the world of work.
Putting in place both the examination and a corresponding measure of SEC-Accredited Grades is essential to ensuring a fair system, having regard to the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic and the loss of learning that has occurred for this group of students due to the interruption of in-person teaching and learning during the periods of school closure.
Under the SEC-Accredited Grades process, students will have the opportunity to opt to receive an SEC-Accredited Grade. They can also opt to sit the Leaving Certificate Examination. Students will opt into these processes on a subject by subject basis.
In light of the ongoing pandemic, and the impact this has had on students due to take their examinations in 2021, I have directed that Leaving Certificate Examination fees should be waived and that there should be no fees for SEC-Accredited Grades.
