Leaving Certificate 2020 Calculated Grades: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2020-10-01
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

I acknowledge - the Deputy has referred to the whole calculated grades process - that many people had principled objections to it and voiced those, including many teachers, and they put these to one side in what was an extraordinary time when there was a need to introduce an extraordinary measure because of the pandemic. I salute the teachers who made it possible and put aside their objections and did it in the best interests of their students. I fully accept what the Deputy is saying in that regard.
I am conscious of time but I will deal specifically with the question the Deputy raised in respect of students who may have taken up one particular offer and may now, as a consequence, be in a position to receive a higher preference offer, and I will give this issue some context. Last year 17,000 students appealed, 3,000 of whom were upgraded and 600 offers were made. As a consequence of that, all but three of those received offers within that timeframe, or within last year’s academic year. We are going to move might and main, and I know that the Minister with responsibility for higher education has said likewise, to ensure those students will be in a position to receive those offers this year, within this academic year. We will do that to the absolute best of our ability. I appreciate some students have already taken up offers, as may have occurred in previous years as well.
It is important to note that as a special arrangement this year, any student who receives a higher offer, either as a result of taking the exams in November or as a result of an upgrade, will not have to pay any fees, registration or otherwise, and will of course be eligible for SUSI again. It is not an ideal situation which I absolutely know to be the case. I would never have wanted students to be in this position. All of us have an agreed agenda here which is that we only want what is best for the students. They are at the centre of all that we do in the Department of Education and Skills. I have worked all my life in the education sector and I want to ensure, through working with people like the Deputy and the Members of Dáil Éireann, that we deliver for the students. This is not an ideal situation and I regret it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-10-01