Rebecca’s battle for college place is tip of icebeg in cracked system
SOMETIMES it takes just one person to rock a system to its foundations. Step up Rebecca Carter, the County Wexford student who fought the system last week and won a High Court case against the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to have a marking mistake fixed on time to study Veterinary Medicine this academic year.
Ms Carter was celebrating with her family on Friday after the State Examinations Commission confirmed the upgrade of her business paper to a H1, meaning she exceeded the points requirement for Veterinary Medicine. She started her new course in UCD on Monday morning, smiling with joy for photographers. Ms Carter went to the High Court after an error in totting up marks on her leaving certificate Business paper meant she lost out on the points required for the UCD course.
On Wednesday, the High Court ruled that the SEC speed up the appeal process so that Ms Carter would be eligible for a place at UCD before their deadline expired.
The case, which was taken by the Carter family after some deliberation, highlights the ridiculous finger-in-the-dam, lookaway, hope-for-the-best mentality of the Department of Education, whose minister has suddenly sprung to life on the ‘issue’. Rebecca is one of hundreds of intelligent, enthusiastic students who have been coming up against a brick wall. Who have, in effect, been punished for questioning their leaving cert examination results, through an appeals process which clearly is broken and needs fixing. As much was said in the High Court’s description of the appeals process as ‘manifestly unfit for purpose’. This is because the results of exam marks appeals are not released until mid- October, up to six weeks after the college year starts.
For an education department to come up with such an asinine system beats all. Combine this with a myriad of problems in how exam results are corrected and it is, as if, somebody in the department is having a laugh. I know secondary teachers who make extra money every summer, around €2,000 I understand. Arguments can be made that teachers are already well paid and shouldn’t have the wherewithal to make a bit extra as a nixer through marking papers.
What is clear is that teachers should be the only people paid to correct papers which, in effect, can be the difference in determining whether a student gets to pursue their dream career, or have to settle for something less. In Rebecca Carter’s case she wanted to study veterinary. She was naturally in tears when her results fell short of her expectations and the lofty requirements of the course in August. Sensing something was wrong she appealed the decision and after a legal battle was proven right, only to face into a reality whereby she would not be able to attend her course for another 12 months because of a deadline.
It is a joke that such a callous, thoughtless and reckless (non) policy has been adopted by a Government more renowned for missing deadlines, than sticking to them. Teachers, by and large, do an amazing job. Mistakes happen, nobody questions that, but questions need to be asked about how exams are corrected. How that is financed and how best to serve the student busting his or her gut to contribute to society and advance themselves.
Don’t get me started on how the squeezed middle are forced to put their lives on hold to pay for third level country in this ‘Numpty State’ country!