Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD, has urged the Minister for Education to engage with students and take seriously their calls for an alternative Leaving Cert arrangement this year.

This comes following a statement from the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) this morning, calling on the Minister to take students voices into account and revise the current State examination plans.

The Cork South Central TD said:

“The ISSU are the largest representative body for second-level students on the island. They have stated clearly that the Minister for Education’s proposal of traditional exams cannot go ahead.

“The Minister and her Department are acting as though this has been a normal academic year for Leaving Cert students, when we know that it has been anything but.

“A significant proportion of students have lost teaching time due to personal self-isolation or self-isolation of their teachers, coupled with school closures in their fifth year. There are many students who – completely outside of their control – simply have not had the opportunity to cover the curriculum. 

“Leaving Cert students have made it clear; they need a choice, between written exams and calculated grading, in recognition of the significant disruption they have experienced in their learning over the last two years due to Covid-19.

“I am today urging the Minister to take seriously the voice of students and to engage with them to secure this choice and ensure the Leaving Class of 2022 are treated with fairness.”