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Billy Ryle says the best decision in adverse circumstances was to postpone the Leaving Cert and cancel the Junior Cert…
In a press conference on Good Friday afternoon, State exam candidates were provided with as much certainty about the exams as these exceptional times allow.
Minister McHugh said that the decisions taken were based on advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team.
School are to remain closed until further notice. As the restrictive measures have been extended to Tuesday, 5th May, schools will not reopen before that date.
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About 60,000 Leaving Cert candidates have their exam postponed by about seven weeks. No firm dates were provided in the current circumstances and candidates will still be mainly housebound.
Students – those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular – will need a lot of support in view of the stress and anxiety being suffered by this year’s candidates.
Likewise, third level and further education colleges must be very generous in their allocation of college places.
As expected, the traditional Junior Certificate exam has been cancelled and will be replaced by school-based assessments and in-house school exams in the next academic year.
Discussions about the logistics of holding a school-based Junior Cert exam will be teased out by the Department of Education, The State Examinations Commission (SEC), School Management Associations and the teacher unions.
All parties are cognisant of the unusual circumstances and will bring a lot of goodwill and flexibility to the discussions.
At Leaving Cert level the practical exams timetabled for May have been postponed and will be rescheduled for late July or early August.
The deadline for submitting Leaving Cert practical and project work has been deferred to an undecided date later in the summer.
But the big announcement of the day was the postponement of the Leaving Cert exam from June until late July or early August.
Details of the new Leaving Cert timetable will be released by the SEC in June when the status of the coronavirus pandemic is clearer. Final arrangements, scheduling and related safety measures will be shaped by public health advice.
The postponement of the Leaving Cert will give candidates more time to prepare for the exam and provides them with a degree of certainty about the future.
It does mean however that Leaving Cert candidates are faced with an inordinately long academic year stretching into late July or possibly beyond.
The Minister is very keen for the candidates to have the benefit of some teaching time in school before the exams begin.
If the country has been restored to some kind of normality, candidates may get the benefit of a few weeks in school in May. It’s also likely that teachers will be requested to be available for class teaching during the first fortnight in July.
The Leaving Cert timetable for June is now null and void. The new changes may also affect the Central Applications Office (CAO) timeline.
Already the third level colleges have indicated that they will be flexible and will work with the new Leaving Cert schedule. It remains to be seen if the CAO will alter their application dates.
The published dates for the various rounds of college offers may have to be revisited to tie in with the rescheduled Leaving Cert timetable.
First year college entrants will have a much later start in the next academic year.
That is the least of their concerns in the context of the disruption caused to their studies by the Covid-19 virus.
Checklist
• The Leaving Cert exam has been postponed
• The Junior Cert exam has been cancelled
• Schools will remain closed until further notice
• Leaving Cert practical exams timetabled for May have been postponed
• The deadline for submitting Leaving Cert practical/project work has been deferred
• The postponement of the Leaving Cert provides candidates with a degree of certainty
• The Leaving Cert timetable for June is now null and void
• Candidates will get some teaching time before the Leaving Cert begins
• The new exam date may affect the Central Applications Office (CAO) timeline
• The dates for the rounds of college offers may have to be revisited
• Exam candidates deserve support and goodwill because of the uncertainty
• Colleges must be generous with the offers of college places next year
• Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor/Educational Commentator
