Madam, – The Department of Education and Skills’ solution to a timetabling blunder in the Leaving Certificate Examination schedule, where a Leaving Certificate student is timetabled to sit two of her examination papers at the same time, is not only a breach of their own guidelines to promote equality and to challenge unfair discrimination (Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School, NCCA, 2006), it also constitutes a breach of her Human Rights under Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The solution proposed by the department necessitates the student in question to sit a marathon examination of eight-and-half hours duration, on Monday, June 14th, beginning at 9.30am with Maths, followed by Irish paper 1 and the Irish Aural, and finishing with the Lithuanian language paper at 8.30pm.
Can the department not see that this “solution”, only adds insult to injury and amounts to a blatant case of discrimination against this student?
– Yours, etc,