Lack of respect shown to students is ‘beyond anything imaginable’
A WEXFORD CBS student who is also the National Secretary for the Irish Second Level Student’s Union (ISSU) has described the disrespect shown to this year’s Leaving Cert pupils as ‘beyond anything imaginable’.
Matthew Colgan is currently in
Sixth Year and is one thousands of students who had, at one point, thought he would be returning to school for three days last week.
Following the Minister for Education’s decision to renege on her original plan, Matthew said that week’s events only served to highlight the lack of respect students were being afforded.
‘The disrespect that students have been shown is beyond anything imaginable,’ he said. ‘Representative bodies such as the ISSU have been fighting for students to have a voice on a department level by delivering the student’s views in Department Advisory Committees, but when students threatened to go on strike the
Department of Education (DOE) didn’t even bat an eyelid.
‘In comparison, and to show just how little respect is shown to students, when the ASTI threatened to disregard the Department’s guidelines they almost instantly bent to their will.’
Like so many students, Matthew just wants a solid plan in place for the rest of the year, something to work towards. But he says the constant back and forth from the DOE has given him ‘whiplash’.
‘The last few days have been pretty distressing for me and I cannot tell you honestly how I feel about staying home for January and engaging with online learning.
‘I have such a pain in my neck from the multiple accounts of whiplash given to me by the Department, who seem to not be able to make a solid decision and stick to it.’
Praising Wexford CBS for its ability to facilitate the ‘best quality’ of online learning possible, Matthew admitted he has ‘major anxiety’ with regards to the continued uncertainty surrounding this year’s Leaving Cert.
‘It is becoming increasingly difficult to have a solid plan to follow in terms of study and even keeping motivation levels up to perform well in class,’ he said.
‘The lack of communication from the Department in terms of the plan between now and June has been extremely detrimental to my own plans and the plans of students all over the country.’
And despite the DOE’s insistence the exams will go ahead, Matthew remains sceptical.
‘I’m sure the Department has a plan for Leaving Cert students but they have not made this clear, which makes it look like they are making things up at the last minute,’ he said.
‘If they want to regain the confidence of the students, they need to start being more open and transparent and the Minister needs to be actively engaging with students.’
Accepting that Minister for Education, Norma Foley, was tasked with making some difficult
decisions at the moment, Matthew said she had nonetheless caused ‘unnecessary upset’ in recent days.
‘Her strategy of dropping large announcements and hiding without answering any questions or giving any clarification to education stakeholders has caused so much unnecessary upset and issues that could have easily been prevented in a five minute conversation.’
But through his role with the ISSU, Matthew is determined to ensure the voice of students is heard and that they have a say when it comes to deciding the form of this year’s examinations.
‘We are striving to consult with students and ensure that their voices are represented on a department level and are currently conducting a consultation process to ascertain students’ opinions and feelings towards the State Exams 2021.
‘I would encourage any student who wants to have their voice heard to contact me at Secretary@issu.ie or contact the ISSU directly at Studentvoice@issu.ie’