Verdict: Junior Cert Civil, Social and Political EducationArguably the most topical State exam on the menu, the Civil, Social and Political Education (CSPE) paper yesterday invited Junior Certificate students to answer questions on EU enlargement, local elections and the war in Iraq.
The exam is compulsory for all Junior Certificate students and had been applauded as a genuine effort to raise teenagers' awareness of what it means to be a citizen.
However, this commitment was not reflected in the presentation of this year's paper, according to the association of CSPE teachers. "This is an exam that relies heavily on imagery, and there was very little spent on the look of the paper," Mr Philip Irwan, chairman of the association, complained yesterday.
"Compared to the English and Irish papers the CSPE exam looked drab and the pictures were hard to discern. A shot of the Cabinet seated at table was very unclear. Many Cabinet members were not recognisable, and a picture of an e-voter in action was barely discernible from someone ringing a doorbell. I think the Department needs to invest more in the presentation of this very important subject."
The inclusion of a question on e-voting was a surprise to many students, who thought the issue was history, at least for the time being. Evidently the question was framed before the Electronic Voting Commission made the decision to reject e-voting. The tone of the question made the assumption that electronic voting would be introduced.
There was a general welcome, however, for the variety of subjects covered in the year's paper and their topicality. Given that the CSPE exam fell on the day of the local and European elections, commentators were pleased to note that EU enlargement and local government came up.
Citizenship rights, however, did not feature, despite yesterday's referendum. "CSPE is all about citizenship," said Mr Brendan O'Regan, a teacher. "I'm surprised that the examiners did not take the opportunity to cover citizenship on this year's paper."
Overall, students were happy with yesterday's paper, which was hailed as straightforward and fair.
