Irish universities are seeking assurances over CAO places and Leaving Cert results from the Department of Education to avoid the debacles which marred State exams in the UK.
The Irish Universities Association (IUA) is seeking a meeting with senior department officials in order to receive assurances with regard to calculated grades.
The processes of calculated grades have caused chaos, with calculated grades being walked back across the board due to public outcry.
Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh of NUI Galway expressed concerns that blanket grade inflations should be avoided. However, in the UK, chaos ensued when students were punished for a school's previous performances and lost out on college places as a result.
The IUA want assurances that the calculated grades that are released on September 7 are the final grades for all students. This is down to a litany of reasons, one of which is time.
Irish colleges already concerned that the start of the academic year has been pushed back to accommodate a later than usual release of the Leaving Cert results. Once the results are released on September 7, the plan is to issue CAO offers for college places on September 11. Thereafter, most Irish colleges are set to reopen on September 28.
The discontent surrounding the Leaving Cert this year is obviously due to the coronavirus wreaking havoc on life as we know it. However, the silence of Minister of Education Norma Foley has also caused consternation in certain circles.
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Foley has been mute when it comes to primary and secondary schools reopening, allowing the process to take place before commenting. Likewise, she refuses to reveal the process behind the calculated grades system for the Leaving Cert.
It has left students and institutions completely in the dark over their respective futures.
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