Teachers to get €900 bonus for marking this year's Leaving Cert papers
Typically, Leaving Cert examiners will earn between €7,721 and €10,844 depending on the subject marked. File picture: Gavin Browne
Teachers who sign up to mark this year’s Leaving Cert papers will receive an additional bonus of €900 as part of a bid to recruit more examiners.
Those who sign up to mark this year’s Junior Cert papers will also receive a once-off additional bonus of €700.
Last year, a shortage of examiners was a major contributor to the late issuing of results for the State exams.
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has now launched this year’s recruitment campaign, describing the bonus as a “once-off payment to incentivise teachers to mark this year’s written examination”.
Typically, Leaving Cert examiners will earn between €7,721 and €10,844 depending on the subject marked, according to the SEC. Depending on the subject, Junior Cycle examiners will typically earn between €4,858 and €5,010.
The campaign sees the launch of a new website secexaminer.ie, where teachers can access information about working as an examiner.
The SEC is currently undertaking a review of staff recruitment, which aims to substantially increase the number of teachers involved in examinations work.
A working group, including representatives of the management bodies and teacher unions, has been established to look at the availability of teachers to engage in this work in a sustainable way into the future.
This year's Leaving Cert results are expected to go to students in September. This will have a knock-on effect on the higher education sector. It could also affect when students who sit their Junior Cert exams get their results.
Last year's Junior Cert results were issued to students in November. Fewer than 3,000 teachers signed up to mark the 2022 State exams, almost 19% less than the numbers signing up 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Junior Cycle candidate numbers are up by 5% since 2019. The SEC must also prioritise the correcting of the Leaving Certificate, and the second-sitting of the Leaving Cert exams in July for sick or bereaved students.
