LEAVING Certificate economics students left the exam halls smiling yesterday. Both ordinary -and higher-level papers were deemed to be "lovely".
Linda Power, a higher-level student at Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, sounded decidedly elated as she talked about her last paper. "It was really nice.
Many of the questions in section A, the short-answer sections, were a surprise, Ms Power said. She praised section B as lovely, in particular questions 2, 4 and 5.
However, in question 8 (a), she said, very few students could name five semi-state companies that had been privatised in recent years. The remainder of that question was fine, she added.
Her teacher, Ms Mary A Power, said both higher- and ordinary-level students were pleased. There was a good choice of questions covering the whole syllabus and students were busy for the whole of the two-and-a-half hours.
At higher level, section A was demanding but acceptable, according to Ms Power, who is a representative of the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland. She said the ordinary-level exam was a "good paper".
Mr Dermot McCarthy, TUI subject representative, agreed that the ordinary-level paper was reasonable and students should have had no difficulties with it. The questions were well laid out. His only criticism was the amount of reading contained in the paper.
At higher level, he said, section A covered the whole syllabus - but question 8, which asked students about the Purchasing Power Parity Theory, was a little antiquated. Mr McCarthy, who teaches in the Abbey Vocational School, Donegal town, said that in section B, some students were disappointed that they did not get a full question on national income.
Mr McCarthy said he was surprised at the absence of a question on economic growth in another year of good economic growth.
The question on privatisation has come up so frequently in business-organisation and economies questions that it will soon top the charts, he noted. Overall, students should have had no problem finding four questions to answer in section B.
"The format and the structure of the paper continued the good practice of recent years, helping to increase, once more, the number of students sitting economies," he added.