Statement from the Technological Higher Education Association on behalf of the Institutes of Technology in Ireland

We welcome the announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh, TD, regarding the completion of the 2020 senior cycle assessment process, and specifically the replacement of the planned Leaving Certificate examinations with an alternative grading system.  We acknowledge the considerable work that underpins this and will recognise the state certification of the completion of the senior cycle.  This has been a particularly worrying and uncertain time for Leaving Certificate students, their families, friends, and teachers.  The decision announced on Friday (8 May 2020) brings certainty to the process and also allows our institutions to plan toward welcoming new students into the next academic year.

We recognise that this solution has been informed by experts who have been working closely with Government and relevant agencies since the onset of the public health emergency.  We will continue to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to clarify the resulting CAO schedule and we expect that dates and time-frames will closely resemble the norm. 

As we work through the recovery phases outlined in the Government's Roadmap for Reopening Society & Business, we look forward to welcoming a new cohort of students to our institutes this autumn.  Your ambition and skills will be central to rebuilding societal confidence and rebooting our economy.  Our institutions are particularly experienced in small group teaching and are linked closely with enterprise which is key to fuelling that recovery.  Our institutes of technology have been key agents for change both locally and nationally and support a student cohort that closely reflects the socio-economic profile of the Irish population.  They are key to supporting equitable access to higher education and have strong student services in place that will be central to supporting learners through the recovery. 

We will continue to work closely with the public health authorities to ensure that next year's provision will protect the health and wellbeing of both staff and students and we continue to ensure that every support possible is put in place to nurture both the physical and mental health of our communities.

Signed:

Dr Joseph Ryan, CEO THEA
Professor Vincent Cunnane, Chair of THEA and President of Limerick Institute of Technology

The Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) is the representative advocacy body for the institutes of technology in Ireland.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Róisín O’Connell, Head of Communications, THEA: (087) 9193333; roisin.oconnell@thea.ie