Rose Conway-Walsh Demands Exam Alternatives for Students Amid COVID

Minister, in light of the rising numbers of people infected by COVID and the arrival of the new variant will students have a remote option for the end of semester exams? Students across the state are looking for clarity and uniformity on what plans are in place to ensure the third level institutions are prepared and capable of providing alternative assessments for students that do not wish to sit in-person exams or for students that are unable to attend due to requirements to restrict their movements. I want to thank the Deputy for raising an important and timely issue. Higher education and research and further education and training, including apprenticeships, have been confirmed and reconfirmed by Government as an essential service during the course of this pandemic. They continue, therefore, to take place on-site, consistent with the Safe Return Plan published by my department last June and endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer. There is no medical advice or public health advice or NPHET advice or CMO advice that suggests that any level of on-site activity planned, including exams, should now move online. I have always believed since the start of this pandemic, whether I was Health Minister or in this role, following the public health advice. On Friday, 19 November last, I met with sectoral and stakeholder bodies through our COVID steering committee, including the Union of Students of Ireland, and the issue of end of semester examinations was discussed. The USI emphasised the requirement for consistency in approaches and the provision of appropriate options for students and learners. Due to the diversity of our higher education institutions and the very broad range of activities they undertake and the different contexts and requirements applicable to exams, it was agreed that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be appropriate across the whole of higher education or the third-level sector more generally. It was also agreed that the basic principle of risk assessment and the application of appropriate precautionary measures would also apply. Management bodies confirmed at that meeting that they are putting in place a range of approaches to ensure that end-of-term exams will be safe and that the requirements of any student who may have COVID-19 or an underlying health condition or be a close contact can be addressed. It was also pointed out that there are some exams, such as those related to external accreditation, which are very challenging to change to an online format at short notice. The outcome of the meeting was that individual higher education institutions will assess the appropriate approach to exams, consistent with the outcome of their risk assessments, which they have been carrying out since they returned to campus. A timely engagement and consultation with student and staff representatives was a very important role to play. In all instances, public health must remain a priority. But to be very clear, for a student who may not be able to attend an exam in person due to COVID, due to being a close contact or indeed having an underlying health condition, I expect and I'm assured that alternative arrangements will be put in place for them, be that a deferral or in some instances an online accommodation. Minister, Minister, some colleges such as UCC have moved all of their exams online and I spoke to a number of students from Waterford last night who are told that they cannot be facilitated to do their exams remotely. The issue here is that students do not feel safe or comfortable to enter an exam hall with hundreds of other students and students do not want to defer these exams. Many of them depend on working through the summer to pay for college and they cannot afford the cost of deferring. The living situation, the health status and many other factors vary from student to student. Some have underlying conditions, others live with vulnerable family members and it's unfair and unjustified for students to be given no option in this situation where COVID numbers are high. There must be scope within examinations for alternative arrangements for students that for whatever reason do not feel comfortable attending mass indoor exams, even if they are scheduled to go ahead. These students need your department to show leadership on this issue. We really need to send out a message from here tonight that these students need to be accommodated and I will explain further to you why as we discuss this. I do think respectfully, Deputy, the last time I had oral PQs in this House you were asking me to increase on-site attendance and I shared that view with you. I said to you then, what I will say now in a different context, everything has to be done in the context of public health. It has to be done in the context of the framework that we have agreed with all stakeholders, including students, including unions and crucially with the Chief Medical Officer. I believe the return to on-campus education has gone very well. It has not been a straight road, it has not been without hiccups, but it has gone well. When I talk to students and I talked to students in Maynooth last night, what they want is consistency and clarity. What is happening in relation to my exams in my institution? I do believe that as a result of our stakeholder meeting on the 19th November, there is now an understanding to the approach that has been taken. If you can point to me as you have, I am very happy to follow them up. The approach we are taking is that what is safe to carry out on-site, in-person, will continue. But accommodations and flexibilities must be shown to students for whom it is not possible to take part in on-campus accommodation. You are right, different institutions will do different things in this scenario. That is okay and that is right, because they must risk assess their own campus, as they have been doing with lecture theatres and the likes, since they recommenced in September of this year. I still think we need uniformity and fairness across the institutions for this. Are we really saying it is okay telling students who are unable to leave their home or are close contact that they have to repeat the exam in August? This will not only result in punishing students that follow public health guidance, it will incentivise some to not adhere to public health advice. And I am concerned about that. Too often the response has been reactive rather than proactive. Minister, students are then being asked to submit medical certificates which will cost up to €50. Students are going home, they are doing exams on the 23rd of December, right? They are in a hall, they have vulnerable parents or people at home. Students deserve a Christmas as well. They deserve a Christmas. They are afraid they are going to be two hours or more than that inside in a hall with many other students. And they are at risk. Windows and doors open are not conducive to doing exams. And I just really, I want you to please look at this because it is causing heightened anxiety amongst students and amongst their families. Of course I always look at this but I am not going to defy public health advice. No matter what way the public health advice goes, I am not going to defy the public health advice approach. And I am not going to decide on the floor at Dáil Éireann that I am going to move exams online. Because one, I do not control that decision, institutions are autonomous. And two, I do not think that is our space. I think our space as politicians, as public representatives, is to put in place the framework endorsed by public health. That has been working very well. But absolutely it is entirely correct of you to say, and I do not view this as an inconsistency, I do not view it as inappropriate, that different institutions will have to make different calls on this because they have different facilities available. And that has been the case since we saw the return to on-site. That is where our colleges very much differ from our schools. You know, in terms of size of examination halls, the potential for some exams to move online, the potential for others not to. So I am very satisfied that our institutions are applying public health advice to their facilities. But also to your point, and I want to agree with you fully on this, there must be maximum flexibility, common sense and accommodation shown to students who, for appropriate health reasons, cannot attend an exam on-site. I cannot agree more with you in relation to that. I will work with you if there are any examples of where that is not the case. Thank you, Minister.