Vol. 500 No. 3
110 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science when a refund cheque will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the fact he had to pay the fee twice in one academic year to repeat his leaving certificate exams. [3944/99]
Pupils who enrol to repeat a year in a second level school recognised by my Department after having sat the leaving certificate examination previously are liable for a course fee of £100. Medical card holding families are exempt from this fee. Pupils who transfer to another recognised school later in the school year are not required to pay the fee a second time. If a pupil having paid the fee subsequently decides to leave school or to enrol in a school not recognised by my Department, there is no provision to refund the course fee. My Department does not have a role in relation to the determination of course fees charged by unrecognised schools.
In this case, the pupil had sat the leaving certificate examination previously and then enrolled to repeat a year in a recognised school but later transferred to a private college not recognised by my Department to complete his studies. In these circumstances it is not possible to refund the course fee paid by the pupil.
