Independent body set to supervise State examinations

THE Junior and Leaving Certificate exams will be operated independently of the Department of Education from next summer.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey yesterday named the five people who will make up the board of the Examinations Commission.

Their job will be to take over the department's responsibilities for the State exams. The department's 150 examinations branch staff based in Athlone will be transferred to the commission early next year.

The new body's board will be chaired by Jimmy Farrelly, former secretary general of the Department of the Environment. His deputy will be former post-primary school principal Mary Bridget O'Hara.

The other members of the Examinations Commission board will be Martin Newell, secretary to the Central Applications Office; Barry O'Brien, chief executive of Co Cork VEC, and barrister Dympna Glendenning a former primary principal.

While the normal work of the staff will remain the same, the new body is to be seen as a move towards an independent State exam system.

"The skills and expertise of these board members will ensure that the Irish examination system continues to be held in the highest esteem at home and abroad. Our system is in the front rank internationally in terms of its integrity and openness. We must build on this going forward," Mr Dempsey said.

The forthcoming year will see further significant reforms in the area of special education and regional delivery. The bottom line is that our system must be responsive to the needs of today's Ireland," he said.

The Government has given approval to the commission's establishment, which will be the subject of a statutory order to be brought before the Oireachtas in the new year.

The announcement comes as Mr Dempsey considers reviewing the Leaving Certificate, with the possibility of introducing a three-year programme with more continuous assessment.

The National Parents Council (Post Primary) said it welcomes such a move but it still wants a change in the college entry system.

"We want an education system that suits students, not to make the students suit the system," said council president Michael O'Regan.