Sir, – In the next few days many of this year’s Leaving Certificate candidates will be pondering whether to appeal some of their results or not.
For the majority, this is a straightforward matter of identifying the subjects and lodging the appeal fee of €40 per script. For some, the process is more difficult.
The entry fee for Leaving Certificate candidates is over €100. Quite properly, the State Examination Commission operates a waiver scheme for those of limited means.
The criterion for exemption is the possession of a medical card by the candidate or his or her parent(s). The latest figures I have to hand indicate that, in 2014, over 33,000 thousand candidates paid the full fee and 19,760 were exempt. There were a further 717 who did not pay the fee but were not entitled to an exemption. The medical card is not a perfect instrument to measure each person’s situation so it is likely that many of these cases were genuine, although perhaps not all.
Strangely, when it comes to the appeal fee, no exemption is allowed. So, for some students the decision to appeal will be determined by the cost involved. In 2014, appeals were lodged by 13.7 per cent of those candidates who paid the examination entry fee, as did 5.8 per cent of the 717 who paid no fee, although not entitled to an exemption. Of those who were exempt, only 4.5 per cent lodged appeals.
The entitlement to lodge an appeal is an excellent provision. Lack of financial resources should not be a hindrance to a student who feels that his or her performance in any subject has not been reflected in the marks awarded.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton should instruct the State Examination Commission to apply the same waiver to the charges it applies for appeals, as it does in the case of entry fees. – Yours, etc,
Dr BRIAN FLEMING,
Palmerstown,
Dublin 20.