Will the delay in Leaving Cert results affect my chances of attending college abroad? – The Irish time

Is there any clarity as to when the results of this year’s Leaving Cert will be released? I have applied to study Physiotherapy but as a substitute there is an offer of a place in the Netherlands if I can show them my Leaving Cert results by September 1st.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) is not yet able to give a date for this year’s results for various reasons.

Short-term problems include the need for a “glide path” reduction in grades, which Education Secretary Norma Foley says will be applied to the significantly higher Covid-era grades.

Additionally, additional time is required to correct scripts from the second session of the Leaving Cert offered in July for students who are ill or bereavement during the June exams.

The increase in the number of subjects offered at the Leaving Cert level has also resulted in the June exams being extended to a fourth week, putting pressure on the SEC to have those scripts corrected within the normal timeframe.

[ ‘I worked harder in fifth year than in sixth’: How to get 625 points in the Leaving Cert ]

However, the main reason the SEC cannot set an exact date for the release of the Leaving Cert results is due to a decrease in the number of teachers applying for the work. In the last ten years, the numbers have been declining every year.

To my knowledge, a review of the system has revealed that only a small percentage of teachers are currently involved in the correction process and when they retire or tire of the workload involved, they are not being replaced by younger teachers.

Having done this work myself as a young teacher in the 1980s, I can confirm that those who argue that teachers benefit from the grading process are correct

The long-term viability of the current Leaving Cert model, in which a student’s teacher does not grade their own students’ work, depends on convincing a far larger number of teachers to apply for that work.

Having done this work myself as a young teacher in the 1980s, I can confirm that those who argue that teachers benefit from the grading process are correct: I have a better understanding of the granular details of how it is assessed in the written work . This invariably helps students and makes you a more effective teacher.

To increase the number of examiners, the SEC recently launched its Learn, Earn, Back (secexaminer.ie) campaign, which provides information on the nature of the work and potential earnings. The SEC says those who participate in marking the Leaving Cert can make between €7,721 and €10,844, and at the Junior Cycle level, €4,858 and €5,010 before taxes.

This can result in more examiners enrolling, the number of scripts per exam candidate falling, and the overall process of grading state exams becoming more sustainable.

Can you apply for a study place abroad? There is a very strong possibility. Delays in recent years have not prevented the vast majority of Irish students from taking up college courses in the UK, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Do you have a career or training request? Email to askbrian@irishtimes.com