Marking the Junior and Leaving Certs

Sir, – I note that the State Examination Commission is urgently seeking exam markers with just over a week to go before the start of the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert (News, May 24th). It is urging retired and newly qualified teachers to apply.

As a mother of both Junior Cert and Leaving Cert students, I am quite concerned that my children’s exam papers may be corrected by a retired teacher or a newly qualified teacher.

How informed are they on the changes that were introduced and what experience has a newly qualified teacher in marking exam papers?

I do, however, believe that newly qualified teachers should be made to mark papers as part of their post-qualification experience, but only after they have been teaching the curriculum for two years.

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The exam commissioners have had a year to prepare. Surely these hardworking students deserve better. – Yours, etc,

ORLA McBRIDE,

Dundalk,

Co Louth.