This week the Minister for education announced extra time will be granted to secondary school students with dyslexia and other and other visual and physical disabilities in their junior and leaving certificate exams but it comes with a catch - it is only ten minutes per exam. I accept ten minutes is better than nothing but it falls far short of what these students require and deserve. It is nowhere near what third level students get. The minimum dyslexic third level students get is an extra ten minutes per hour while second level students are offered just ten minutes per exam. This simply is not good enough. In Northern Ireland, dyslexic students get 25% extra time. The Government's proposal amounts to just 6%. In addition, the State Examinations Commission is just tagging extra time on to existing accommodations, meaning those who do not qualify for current supports such as reading assistance or a spelling and grammar waiver will be excluded. Why are young people who do not qualify for existing supports, in particular students with dyscalculia, excluded? Will the Government increase this half-hearted measure and offer additional extra time in 2026, putting it in line with third level supports? Will it make this extra time a stand-alone accommodation?

Sentiment score: 0.08