Harris: Decisions needed on Leaving Cert by end of month

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has said that clarity is needed for all involved as to whether this year's Leaving Certificate exams can go ahead or whether they will be cancelled. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Decisions need to be made on the future of the Leaving Cert by the end of this month, the Minister for Higher Education has said.

Simon Harris said clarity was needed for all involved as to whether the exams could go ahead or whether they would be cancelled, as was the case for the 2020 exams, which were replaced by predicted grades.

Mr Harris said Norma Foley, the education minister, has "made it clear" she wants the exams to go ahead.

“We're going to need to map out exactly how that's going to happen," he said. "We actually have to say the Leaving Cert is going to happen and here's how it's going to happen; here's what's going to happen in a safe way.

“Ideally, we'd like to see that detail ... by the end of the month or very early February. There isn't a long window here, but the minister has been fair enough. She set up an advisory group. She's working extremely hard on this."
The Cabinet is likely to hear an update from Ms Foley tomorrow regarding her ongoing negotiations with teachers’ unions as to when Leaving Cert students are likely to return to the classroom.

Ms Foley has said it is her priority to get Leaving Cert students back in class by February 1.

Speculation has mounted that mainstream schools may not be back in operation until the end of February, with lockdown restrictions remaining at level 5 until after the mid-term break.

But sources close to Ms Foley said on Sunday night she was aware there were many different voices with differing views. 

“She will listen to and consider all that, but her priority is to get the Leaving Certs back for February 1.”

There will be continued engagement and decisions will be based on public health advice.

Separately, talks are ongoing with unions about the reopening of special needs schools and special needs tuition in mainstream schools next Thursday.

The youth wing of Fianna Fáil, Ógra, has proposed scrapping the 'traditional' Leaving Cert exams and replacing them with calculated grades for 2021. It said we needed to accept the unpredictability of Covid-19 and be prepared for potential school closures later in the year.

It outlines five proposals for this year's Leaving Cert exams and also includes a proposal to establish a dedicated helpline to support student mental health and wellbeing during these unpredictable times.

Ógra president Tom Cahill said: "Yes, in a normal year we run the Leaving Cert as planned. It's an objective way to allocate college places and generally is fair. But what we need to remember is this is not a normal year and we shouldn't treat it like one. This year's students will have missed about 14 weeks of class time."