Hybrid Leaving Cert created 'inequalities' says NUIG deputy president 

Pól Ó Dochartaigh said it would be 'intensely unfair' if some students achieved results by putting themselves through the challenge of sitting the exam, but lost out as someone else's teacher said they were very good.

The deputy president of NUI Galway, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh has said that the hybrid Leaving Certificate system created inequalities and he was in favour of students sitting traditional exams this year.

While he understood the pressures facing Leaving Cert students and sympathised with them, he said accredited grades had resulted in inflation, which pushed up points for courses.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Professor Ó Dochartaigh pointed out that six times as many students had achieved 600 points than in the previous two years, which had led to a lottery for the final places in university.

Calls are being made for a rethink of how State Exams are to be held this year amid concerns about the disruption students have faced.

He added that it was “intensely unfair” if some students received the results by putting themselves through the challenge of sitting the exam, but lost out because someone else's teacher said they were very good.

“I think what is deeply problematic is the idea that one student gets the same number of points as another student on the basis of two very different methodologies,” he said.

"An attempt should be made now to return to some sort of pre-2020 normality and the years 2020 and 2021 should be regarded as exceptional years because the alternative to that was to tell those who did the leaving cert pre-2020 that they would be permanently disadvantaged."

Prof Ó Dochartaigh added that he was not opposed to reform of the leaving cert system, but that reform should be on the basis that the experience was the same for everyone.