Sir, – As the various vested interest groups publicly jockey for position and try to outdo each other in their stance on the format of Leaving Cert 2022, the levels of uncertainty and anxiety among the students involved, and indeed their parents, accelerate.
The incessant speculation about the Leaving Cert is unnecessary and unwarranted, and our current students cannot be subjected to the same level of assessment policy turbulence as last year. They deserve more. They deserve timely decisiveness, clarity, reassurance and respect. They deserve leadership.
Unfortunately, the silence and lack of definitive leadership on the issue from the Department of Education yet again creates a vacuum in which conjecture is allowed to fester. This needs to stop.
We must also accept that the Leaving Cert is not the only show in town and that we should spare a thought for the third-year students and their parents. The Junior Cycle exams are their first big State exams and are a big deal for them.
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And we should all remember that doing well in exams is one thing, but at all costs we cannot fail our students. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McHUGH,
Principal,
Ardscoil Rís, Dublin 9.