Opposition slams Junior Cert results delay

'The moving goalposts on the Junior Cert results has been very hard on the students and their parents,' said Sinn Féin education spokesman Donnchadh Ó'Laoghaire.

The Opposition has criticised the latest delay in the delivery of Junior Certificate results after it emerged that students will not now receive their marks until next month. 

It is understood that the date of when the results will be published will be announced by the State Exams Commission on Tuesday, meaning students will have been waiting five months since they sat the examinations.

The news prompted Sinn Féin education spokesman Donnchadh Ó'Laoghaire to state that it seemed students were not being treated with respect.

"The moving goalposts on the Junior Cert results has been very hard on the students and their parents," he posted on Twitter. 

To have to wait five months is extremely unfair. It smacks of an attitude that the Junior Cycle is unimportant."

The Cork South Central TD was responding to a report in the Irish Times which said that while marking is completed in almost all subjects, it will still be November before grades are published.

It said the delay in releasing the results was linked to a shortage of examiners, along with a decision to prioritise the marking of Leaving Cert papers, a process that was itself delayed past its usual date this year. 

Junior Cert results were traditionally issued in September, but the delays in the marking of papers this year prompted Education Minister Norma Foley to establish a “root-and-branch” review into the marking of State exams. 

That is expected to focus on how to boost examiner numbers and provide greater certainty over the future release of results.

Ms Foley said last week: "Once the Junior Cycle results are out, there will be a full and comprehensive review seeking ways to ascertain how best we can encourage and support more examiners to come on board to be part of the system.

“Equally so, it will look at the whole question around dates and timing and everything else.”

She also referred to the shortage of teachers coming forward to mark exam papers, and the issue of payment for doing so.

"I absolutely accept that people should be paid appropriately," she said. 

"And for that reason, the rates of pay have significantly improved. Notwithstanding that, I think it is greater than that ... there is extraordinary benefit from availing of correcting roles."