Examiners’ pay to be reviewed in attempt to speed up return of exam results

Pay rates for examiners will be feature as part of a “root and branch” review aimed at speeding up the delivery of results for the Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams, Minister for Education Norma Foley has said.

She was speaking after the State Examinations Commission (SEC) confirmed that 68,000 students will have to wait until November 23rd to receive their Junior Cycle results, five months after they sat the exams.

The delay has been a source of frustration among many school leaders and students who say issuing results so long after assessments risks devaluing the exams.

Ms Foley said on Tuesday said that a number of factors had resulted in the delay this year. They include a 30 per cent drop in the number of examiners, along with two sittings of the Leaving Cert exams and a legal obligation to prioritise the grading of Leaving Cert appeals.

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Teaching union sources say a combination of an “exhausting” academic year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, taxation rules and limited opportunity for travel expenses may have affected the number of teachers available.

Ms Foley said that while there was an increase in funding made available to correctors this year, these rates will be reviewed.

“It’s a broader picture we need to look at,” she said. “We’ll look at all different aspects in terms of the exams, the dates, the timing and of course remuneration, notwithstanding that there have been significant increases in the last while.”

[ Junior Cert results will not be released until November 23rd ]

Examiners typically spend about four weeks marking between 150 and 400 scripts during the summer.

Last year examiners were paid a rate of up to €35 per exam script, which varied depending on the complexity of the subject they were marking, the level and whether it was for Junior Cycle or Leaving Cert.

These script rates were increased this year in response to examiner shortages by an additional €6 per Leaving Cert script and €3 per Junior Cycle script, equivalent to a 48 to 57 per cent increase at Junior Cycle and 17 to 50 per cent at Leaving Cert, depending on the subject and level of the exam.

There were also new payments for attending a digital marking conference (€224) and a “satisfactory completion of marking” fee.

In recent years, average payments, before tax, were in the region of €3,500 to €6,000 for teachers marking Leaving Cert papers and about €2,500 to €4,000 for the Junior Cert.

[ Q&A: Why are Junior Cycle results so late this year? ]

Ms Foley said she will “seek to ensure” Junior Cycle results can issue is a more timely fashion next year.

“It is frustrating from students’ point and view and staff and families,” she said. “Equally so, I’m conscious of the challenges that the State Examinations Commission faced this year.

“I am conscious of the need for things to be done differently and I have asked the officials in my department for a root and branch review of the timing, the issuing of results and also to find a mechanism to attract more correctors into the system. That has been a particular challenge for the State Examination Commission.”

School say the timely issuing of Junior Cycle results is crucial for students who skip transition year in forming decisions on subject choices for the senior cycle, as well as for students who wish to pursue apprenticeships or traineeships.