Vol. 550 No. 2
625 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding his Department's recent efforts to recruit additional examiners for the 2002 certificate examinations in post primary schools; his views on the situation, vis-á-vis, leaving certificate oral Irish and French examinations and junior certificate home economics; and the reasons for the fall off in numbers opting for these duties. [7935/02]
I am pleased to report that my Department received a very good response to the recent circular to schools regarding examiner supply for certain tests. We received a significant number of additional applications for posts as examiners at the upcoming oral tests in leaving certificate Irish and French and, again, I want to take this opportunity to thank the applicants and schools concerned for their generous response.
The circular did not request additional applicants for posts as examiners in the junior certificate home economics practical tests because my Department requested schools, in considering which teachers to release, to give priority to teachers who wished to act as examiners of leaving certificate examinations, particularly oral Irish and oral French. It is my Department's intention that the examining of the junior certificate home economics practical will proceed on the same basis as 2001.
The availability of applicants to work as examiners on the oral and practical tests in question is invariably a function of the circumstances of individual applicants each year and the balance that schools must endeavour to strike annually between supporting the visiting-examiner model of assessment on the one hand, and minimising disruption caused by the release of teachers on the other hand.
In an effort to address the examiner supply problem and other difficulties associated with the current arrangements for conducting the oral and practicals my Department established a working group representative of the partners in education to review current arrangements. Some progress was made as outlined to schools in November 2000. My Department continues to seek a way forward in this respect.
