FOLEY REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO ‘TRADITIONAL’ LEAVING CERT
EDUCATION Minister Norma Foley has said the traditional Leaving Cert exams can go ahead with the support of major stakeholders.
Speaking on radio last evening, the Minister said plans to hold the exams in June are currently on target.
‘This afternoon I met with the partners in education from the second level point of view and there was a very clear determination from all of them that the traditional Leaving Certificate should be delivered for June,’ she said on Today FM.
Minister Foley said the advisory committee, which includes representatives from teachers, parents and managerial bodies, had held engagements on the matter and ‘there continues to be a commitment to that delivery’.
Earlier, a spokesman for the Minister said the unions pledged their support for the exam at a meeting yesterday, despite having ruled out a three-day week for Leaving Cert students.
He said: ‘Everybody has to be on board, and if they are not we will have to look at other plans. There can be no division, there’s too much at stake.’
Meanwhile, around 25,000 students have signed an online petition calling for predicted grades to be an option for the class of 2021.
The petition on change.org, put together by a group of sixth years, said: ‘Students shouldn’t be expected to sit a normal exam when nothing about this year has been normal. This would include predictive grades being issued sometime in March/April/May.’