CAO plan won’t work

THERE is some merit in a proposal by Senator Joe O’Reilly, who wants to see points towards CAO applications awarded not just for academic achievement, but also for community involvement and sporting prowess, but it does not stand up to scrutiny.

Our exam system works because it is anonymous and impartial. The person who corrects a paper has no idea who sat the exam, and that is how it should be.

If Senator O’Reilly’s proposal was implemented, it easily could lead to the star player on the hurling team being favoured over a non-sporty child who actually put in the hours studying for existing subjects.

Creating a system under which these admirable ambitions, volunteerism and sport, might objectively be assessed would be nearly impossible, even if, as the senator suggested, they in some way were linked to the President’s Gaisce awards system.

At a time when childhood obesity is such a problem, we need to promote participation in sport, not excellence, and we certainly do not need to isolate or demean those who cannot participate at all.

The conversation is worth having, and extra-curricular activities must be encouraged, but the place where they should be assessed is on a CV, when companies looking to hire students or graduates must take a holistic approach and look at a person and his or her character, not just their grades.

Unless and until a fair system exists to adjudicate on extra-curricular activity, this is a non-runner.