CDs are to be used in all aural examinations at Leaving and Junior Certificate levels from 2005, in a move aimed at improving sound quality during examinations, the Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin, has announced.
Speaking at the opening of an arts and cultural festival at St Louis High School in Rathmines, Dublin, Ms Hanafin said she was allocating a one-off grant of €500,000 to all post primary schools to assist them in purchasing CD players. However, school managers have warned that the gradual "phasing out" of cassette players will mean further investment will be required to enable schools to use CD players which allow them to record oral exams.
Mr George O'Callaghan, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body, also said that while the allocation would facilitate the use of CD players in aural examinations, his organisation estimated an extra 30-40 per cent funding would be needed to enable the use of CD players for teaching of languages. It was also hoped that suppliers would offer a "significant discount" to schools, he said.
Ms Hanafin said every post-primary school will be allocated a minimum grant of €300, with an additional €1 for each pupil. The money will be provided to schools in the coming days.
"I am well aware of the key role of the certificate examinations in our education system. I am pleased to support the [State Examination Commission's] quality agenda and to provide additional funding to help improve sound quality at the aural tests," she said.
"Approximately 120,000 students take the Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations each year and this new technology will aid them in their study of languages and in the aural examinations."