Cork students angered by exam results delay

SECONDARY school students have “lost all confidence” in the Government as anger about delayed exam results intensifies.

Students from Coláiste Éamann Rís in Ballyphehane, who are waiting for Junior Cert results, broke their silence on how it is affecting morale in the classroom.

Thousands of youngsters across the country are waiting anxiously for results next month. Delays are being linked to a shortage of examiners and the prioritisation of Leaving Cert papers. Students are now being forced to wait five months, when the results were traditionally released in September.

Olivia Nason, aged 15, from Deerpark, feels let down by the Government.

“We did our part, but when it came time for the Government to do theirs that didn’t happen,” Olivia said.

“This is very unfair on students in this situation. The Government are saying that we will have our results in November, but how are we supposed to believe them?

“The fear is that this is going to keep getting pushed back. That’s what a lot of us are thinking. We all need to play our part for the system to work. We are getting told the same thing over and over again and it is bringing people down. The more the Government let us down the more we lose confidence.”

The situation is affecting student morale.

“A lot of people don’t care anymore. I’m not sure why the exams haven’t been corrected yet. It could be down to a lack of motivation, but there are a lot of factors involved.”

Olivia’s classmate Rhys Forde also had a strong message for Minister for Education Norma Foley: “We knew there would be some delays. However, we didn’t expect to be four months waiting. You can understand that there are difficulties getting teachers to mark exam papers and difficulties within the department. However, there has to be some thought given to students themselves, who put in months of preparation for their exams.

“There is relief that we finally have a date to look forward to, but that date is still nearly a month away. My message to the minister for education would be to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

Meanwhile, Kai Kane, from Wilton, vented frustration about what he described as a “lack of transparency” on the part of the Government: “We would expect more transparency in the future about this kind of thing.

“Even if the results are delayed, at least letting people know in time means that students won’t have to be left in the dark.”

What the students had to say

Olivia Nason, Deerpark

“We did our part but when it came time for the government to do theirs that didn’t happen. This is very unfair on students in this situation. The government are saying that we will have our results in November but how are we supposed to believe them? The fear is that this is going to keep getting pushed back.” 

Rhys Forde, Ballyphehane

“There is relief that we finally have a date to look forward to but that date is still nearly a month away. My message to the Minister for Education would be to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” 

Kai Kane, Wilton

“We would expect more transparency in the future about this kind of thing,” he said. “Even if the results are delayed at least letting people know in time which means that students won’t have to be left in the dark. We worked hard for the Junior Cert but all we are left with is months of worry. In general, I think the government assume that it’s not important. While you could make that argument we still worked very hard for it.” 

Davin Condon, Hollyhill

“It is annoying that after putting so much work into our studies this is what we are going back. I don’t blame the teachers because I don’t believe they are getting enough pay for correcting the exams. The government are doing their best but they are still not working efficiently. They need to work more efficiently and sustainably.” 

Jake Barry, Ballyvolane

“I wasn’t expecting them to take this long. I thought we would be getting them in September but I have accepted it now. It is annoying but all we can do now is make sure it doesn’t happen again.” 

Caleb Sheehan, Upper Fairhill

“I am disappointed, but mainly anxious to get our results back. The anxiety had gone away for a while but I have no doubt it will be back in the next few weeks as we continue to wait for our results.”