The Minister for Education has confirmed this year’s Leaving Certificate will be exams only, despite calls for a hybrid option.
Plans being brought to Cabinet by the Minister for Education Norma Foley recommended against the hybrid option, opting instead for the full return of written exams.
“Having engaged extensively with all stakeholders through the Advisory Group, I can confirm the decision has been taken to proceed with Leaving Certificate 2022 examinations and Junior cycle examinations,” the Minister said.
Ms Foley said there have been “significant changes” to the Leaving Certificate assessments, across papers and other assessment components, which aims to “lessen the load for candidates”.
One quarter of this year’s Leaving Certificate students did not sit the Junior Certificate examination, which the Department of Education believes makes accredited grades unfeasible.
The General Secretary of the ASTI had previously said running a hybrid Leaving Certificate model this year would encounter a number of problems.
However, a survey conducted by the Irish Second Level Student’s Union found that 68% of students wanted a hybrid examination.
The Labour Party’s spokesperson on education described this year’s plans by the Department as a “betrayal” of students.
“This is a betrayal by a dept with no imagination, welded to tradition having convinced themselves that all is fine,” Aodhán Ó Ríordáin tweeted.
