Students and teachers told not to wear masks during Leaving Cert orals

Perspex screens are to be used between students and the teacher interviewing them, according to official guidance issued by the State Examinations Commission. File picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Students and teachers have been directed not to wear masks during the Leaving Cert oral exams as they could “interfere with proper and clear communication". 

Perspex screens are to be used instead between students and the teacher interviewing them, according to official guidance issued by the State Examinations Commission (SEC). Oral exams are set to take place in schools between March 26 and April 15, under very different circumstances to previous years.

In a normal year, an external examiner appointed by the SEC carries out both the language interviews with students and assesses them. 

However, this year, due to the pandemic, teachers are to conduct the interviews with students, with a recording of this to be sent to the SEC to be assessed independently of the school. 

According to the documents published on Friday, the wearing of masks during the exam is “not appropriate” for either the interviewer or the candidate as they would interfere with communication.

They also would interfere with the “creation of a clear recording that properly shows the candidate’s level of communicative proficiency". 

'Adequately' ventilated

Schools are directed to keep the room “adequately” ventilated, “even when taking account of the need to ensure that external noise does not interfere with the interview or its recording". 

At least 2m must be kept between the student and the interviewer. The interviewer is to remain in the same room for the duration, with students to use their own pens to sign in.

Documents such as picture sequences, topic cards and role plays are not to be shared unless they can be sanitised between interviews, for example a laminated set.

According to the SEC, schools are responsible for ensuring the "adequacy" of the quality of the recordings of interviews, the appropriate saving of the recordings in the correct format, the creation of back-ups as well as the checking of recordings. 

"The SEC examiner will award marks on the sole basis of the level of oral proficiency demonstrated by the candidate clearly and audibly on the recording," it said. 

"The SEC will not be in a position to provide an oral component mark to any candidate where a recording has not been submitted, or has inadequate clarity, or where it has become corrupted and the school has not retained a usable back-up."