Crowe urges calm and support ahead of Leaving Cert results

Speaking this morning, ahead of the publication of the Leaving
Certificate results later this week, Sinn Féin Education spokesperson
Seán Crowe urged all students to remain calm and to put the exam into
context.

The Dublin South West TD stated that “the hype around exam results time
has been intensified in the last decade. What we are now witnessing is
an educational rat-race for points to determine if a student’s
application to a 3rd level course of their choice is accepted. This is
an educational pressure-cooker which must be turned down.

“The Leaving Cert examination and the Points system must be changed. For
instance   continual   assessment  should  be  introduced  in  order  to
significantly  reduce  pressure  on students. Examining a student over a
period of a couple of stressful weeks to see if they can progress to
their third level preferred course is unfair and unjustifiable. Young
people have enough pressures to cope with without the added stress of
intense examinations over a short period of time.

“The current Leaving Certificate is obsolete.  The education system
should be about assisting students in developing their full potential
according to their capabilities. It should not be a competition, where
students are pitted against one another for limited college places.

“Disappointed students must realise that there are several other options
open to students besides the University route. The results process and
their outcome can be a difficult and highly pressurised period for many
students. I would urge students, their schoolmates, their friends and
family to engage in a supportive role during the next couple of weeks.
These exam results must be put into context, and while I wish each and
every student well, these results are by no stretch of the imagination
the be all and end all.”