Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2021
17. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education if she will consider extending the current flexible grading for future leaving certificate students up to at least 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35281/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to all students as a result of school closures arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. From 11 January 2021, all students engaged in a programme of remote learning with their schools.
Students who have just completed fifth year and who are due to take Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022 have experienced a degree of disruption to their learning. In these circumstances it was considered that some level of adjustment to the normal Leaving Certificate assessment arrangements should be made for them that would be proportionate to their experience and be educationally appropriate. Given where these students were at in their studies at the time of each school lockdown period, the impact of the loss of tuition time is less than that experienced by those students who sat the Leaving Certificate this year.
Yesterday, the Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations received an update in relation to the 2022 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations. I announced that the level of adjustment to the assessment arrangements for the 2022 Leaving Certificate Examination cohort would be broadly the same as that applied by the Assessment Arrangements for Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021, as set in December 2020. These arrangements were announced before the second period of school closures. Additional changes will be made to that document to reflect syllabus content specific the 2022 examinations. The revised document will be published later this month.
I also announced yesterday that the State Examinations Commission (SEC) will run an alternative set of Leaving Certificate Examinations in 2022, shortly following the main set of examinations. The SEC will set out the eligibility conditions for these examinations, which will be limited to certain students who are unable to sit the main set of examinations due to close family bereavement, COVID-19 illness during those examinations, and certain other categories of serious illness, to be clearly and strictly delineated. The SEC will issue further details regarding these examinations, with all arrangements guided by prevailing public health advice. There will also be further engagement with stakeholders in this matter.
