Offering students a hybrid Leaving Cert 'fairest thing to do'

Talks on this year’s State exams continue between Department of Education officials, the State Examinations Commission, and the teaching unions. File Photo: Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

A motion will be brought to the Dáil today calling on the Minister for Education to provide Leaving Cert students with a choice between accredited grades and written examinations.

It comes as talks on this year’s State exams continue between Department of Education officials, the State Examinations Commission, and the teaching unions. 

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin’s education spokesperson, said he expects the motion to be supported by the majority of the opposition parties when he brings it to the Dáil this afternoon.

Giving students choice in their exam format is the “fairest thing to do in the circumstances, given the time that was lost by students due to school closures, self-isolation and all the other disruptions of the pandemic”, he said. “In terms of grade inflation, I think the most important thing is that we organise the Leaving Cert in a way that’s as fair as possible to this year’s Leaving Cert [cohort].”  

There would be further engagement between Minister Norma Foley and Minister Simon Harris in terms of third-level places, he said, adding that there will always be "very severe competition" for in-demand courses. "In the circumstances where students are really struggling to cover the course, I think this is the fairest way to organise the Leaving Cert this year." 

Aódhan Ó Ríordain, Labour's education spokesman, has also previously called on the minister for education to run Leaving Cert 2022 as a hybrid model of written exams and calculated grades.

Separately, the Oireachtas education committee will also meet today to continue its discussions on Leaving Cert reform, hearing from officials in the Department of Education. 

Meanwhile, new figures show a record number of new apprenticeship registrations in 2021. Figures released by the Department of Further and Higher Education show the apprenticeship population has increased to 24,212 with more than 8,600 new registrations last year. 

Craft apprenticeships made up the majority (80%) of these registrations. There has also been a rise in the number of female apprentices; from 706 in 2020 to 1,535 in 2021. “That is still a fraction of our apprentice population but it is important to see the numbers continuing to increase," said Simon Harris.

"This year we will be working to increase participation among traditionally under-represented groups, including females." A grant of €2,000 for employers of apprentices on consortia-led programmes has also been introduced this year.