Secondary school students are calling on the education minister to cancel this year’s traditional state exams.
The Irish Second-Level Students Union wants Norma Foley to come up with an alternative format.
It’s due to schools being closed at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and they won’t reopen until at least February 1st.
The Union has two strong local voices, with Doireann Broderick of Presentation College Carlow and Chloe Anderson of Kilkenny’s Grennan College both serving as Regional Officers this year.
Reuban Murray, the union’s president, says teenagers are under serious mental strain.
“The real reason that we have brought forward this position is because of the duress, the mental damage and the anguish that students have endured during this pandemic up to now and we do not need to prolong that” said Reuban.
“If we look ahead to the next couple of months, it’s only going to get harder, they’re only going to get a lot more scared, and their mental health is going to be damaged even further” he added.
