The State Examinations Commission (SEC) last year provided exam papers and other materials for some 2,000 students who did not turn up on the day of the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams.
As almost 116,000 students complete their final preparations for the State exams, which start tomorrow morning, the SEC yesterday revealed that a total of 117,570 students were entered for the exams in 2004. But only 115,606 actually sat the exams. More than 1,400 of those who failed to show up did so at Leaving Certificate level, with a further 514 at Junior Certificate level.
A spokeswoman for the SEC said many of the candidates in question may have paid their examination fees. Some of the absences could have occurred because schools had not informed the SEC of a decision by an individual not to continue in a course of study, she added.
This year, over 55,000 students have entered for the established Leaving Certificate exam, 57,100 for the Junior Certificate exam, and 3,400 for the Leaving Certificate Applied exam, the SEC also revealed. Some 100 students have registered to take part in the inaugural examination of the new Leaving Certificate Religious Education syllabus.
For the first time this year, all aural tests in Irish, music and modern languages at Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate level will be delivered on compact disc.