Madam, - I read Rory Buckley's suggestion that the "pass mark" should be abolished in examinations with much interest (May 25th).
His argument is that there is no such "pass mark" in athletics, no time above which an athlete is deemed to have failed. The point he seems to miss is that whether it takes an athlete nine seconds or nine minutes to run 100 metres is irrelevant to anyone other than the athlete. However, if, for example, a prospective medical student gets a mark of 30 per cent in a biology examination, then surely he or she is not fit to continue the course.
"Failure" is nothing to be ashamed of, but we should not seek to compromise academic standards as a sop to political correctness.
Such a stance is patronising to those who have not made the grade, and undermines the efforts of those who have excelled in their field of study.
- Yours, etc,
SHAUN McDAID, Milford, Co Donegal.