RESULTS of an investigation into how craftwork submitted for this year's Leaving Cert examination went missing - depriving students of vital marks - will be published, says the Department of Education. The Minister for Education said she is "very concerned" at what happened.
Eight students lost third level places as a result. In all, craftwork from 49 students in 29 schools was lost.
A senior official laid the blame for what happened primarily on the Department's failure to pursue the absence of the craftwork when a re check of marks had been sought by the Ursuline Convent, Sligo.
At that stage, anything missing should have been identified and followed through, but this had not happened, Mr Pat Burke, assistant secretary, said.
Earlier there had been a failure in that the material sent from the schools concerned to the Department's offices in Athlone had not been properly checked in or not received.
The appeals system which, he said, invariably picks up problems of this kind, "did not achieve the required result".
Persistent complaints by the Ursuline Convent, the worst affected school, led to the blunder being uncovered.
Compensation should be paid to all students whose work, submitted as part of the art examination, had been lost, says the National Youth Council.
"The impact that this blunder has had on some of the students involved has been serious and must be recognised and rectified," it said.
"The inquiry is examining the whole operation of the Leaving Certificate Art examination in 1995," Ms Bhreatnach's statement said. "It will make recommendations to the Minister within a matter of weeks, and its report will be published."
The inquiry is being carried out by consultants Price Waterhouse.
One hundred of the 400 marks for art were based on craftwork submitted and the 49 students missed out on the 100 marks when their work was lost. This prevented some of the students getting on to the courses they wanted and for others it has meant a delay of one year in getting college places, which haven now been promised to them.
The Department has taken a number of steps in the light of what has happened. It has increased the marks of almost all the students following consultations with their teachers. It has apologised to the students and offered them advice.
Fourteen of the students are repeating the Leaving Cert this year and the Department has waived the repeat exam fees.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland called for extra staffing in the examinations branch in Athlone to cater for the huge workload involved.
"Each year approximately two million items are handled by those involved in examinations," said the ASTI president, Mr Tommy Francis. "The fact that an error occurred in relation to a tiny proportion of these speaks for the dedication, efficiency and professionalism of those involved."
The Fianna Fail spokesman on education and the Gaeltacht, Mr Micheal Martin, said "a full efficiency audit should now be undertaken on the entire operation of the examination system within the Department of Education".
It was clear, he added, "that the re check system did not work and failed alarmingly in this case".
The National Youth Council welcomed the inquiry but said "the question of compensation must also arise".
"The Leaving Cert exam is difficult enough to contend with without having to worry about pieces of exam work going missing.
The Minister said an interim internal review had been carried, out to identify the reasons for the error and remedial action had been taken. Asked why a further inquiry is to be carried out by consultants, the Departments spokesman said the Minister felt an independent inquiry would be more reassuring to the public.