Impact of Delayed Leaving Cert Results.
Update 29th July 2021
Clearly, the current pandemic has had a serious impact across Europe on both the delivery and assessment of secondary-level Education. The majority of countries appear to have met it with a clear raft of measures including cancelling off-line schooling and either maintaining, cancelling or postponing end-of-year examinations, with clear timetables as to measures for assessments and publication of results. Following fantastic work by the teachers of Ireland, and their schools, during April and May, they have delivered assessed grades on schedule. Now, with the written tests also completed, and a new innovative system of results currently being worked through, our Minister of Education has decided to postpone publication of results from their normal mid-August slot until 3rd September.
A recent statement from the Department confirms that:
” it has been working closely on this matter since early this year (interestingly?), and liaising directly with administrations in the countries of interest to Irish students. The main countries of interest in the EU include the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Denmark. Officials have contacted the Irish Embassies in these countries requesting that they engage with the Higher Education authorities on behalf of Irish Leaving Certificate students. The Minister for Education has also written to her colleagues in each of the other EU Member States, requesting that the authorities and the relevant higher education institutions in those countries give consideration to Irish students who may not have their Leaving Certificate results in time to complete the processing of their admissions at the usual time in those systems”
There are obviously concerns that our results will be too late for over 1000 Irish students waiting in diverse admissions systems for entry to the first year of programmes in continental European universities, particularly in those countries where results are required by 1st September. EUNICAS understands the latest situation to be as follows, in the countries listed:
Denmark: With our students already challenged by our earlier mid-August deadline for the delivery of results, the deadline for receipt of results will not be extended beyond 31st August.
Germany: our 2021 results were already too late for entry 2021, so most Irish students have applied using 2020 (or earlier) results, or are waiting to apply next year.
Netherlands: the normal deadline for the submission by students of their “High School Diploma” (Leaving Certificate) results is 01 August, and this is nomally extended to 31 August for Irish and UK student. Universities have a good measure of flexibility in setting/reviewing their own admissions deadlines and several universities have confirmed to EUNICAS that they will accept late results and that Irish students can start their programmes on 1st September, including U. Amsterdam, U. Leiden, U. Groningen, Tilburg U., U. Twente, VU Amsterdam,, Fontys UAS, Hague UAS, Hanze UAS and Stenden UAS. EUNICAS is working with all Dutch universities, on behalf of Irish students, to gain the certainty they require.
EUNICAS is confident that all of the Dutch universities will eventually decide to accept Irish school leavers this year, though some may delay enrollment of Irish students until 3rd/4th September. This confidence is strengthened by a letter sent by the Dutch Ministry of Education last week to the higher education institutions that looked for:
” flexibility where possible regarding the intake of Irish students after 1 September, due to the delay in the publishing of their LC results”.
Lithuania: Although the academic year starts in Lithuania on 01 September, most universities are confirming to EUNICAS that they will accept results beyond that date.
Romania: our results are already later than deadlines for results in med and vet schools in Romania. Some have a second round of applications, which can accommodate the traditional date for publication of our results but not the extended date. We are currently looking for flexibility here.
Spain: Currently, UNED, the local qualifications verification authority, is having difficulties validating late results.
Italy and Poland: the academic year in both of these countries starts in October, with commensurate timelines for the provision of results, No issues are expected here.
EUNICAS is working tirelessly, both in Ireland and a wide selection of European universities, in an attempt to minimise the impact of this delay on Irish students.
