A number of Leaving Certificate students this year have not yet received their results due to an investigation into suspected cheating.
38 students who sat the exams in June did not get their full results on the official results day on Wednesday past. The State Examinations Commission withheld the marks over breaches of regulations, a spokesperson has told the Irish Times.
There are a number of students who did not get results for any papers, while others have had specific marks withheld which are under investigation.
The students’ identities, the schools, and the subjects will not be made public to protect the privacy of candidates, the SEC said. A further 34 results from other exam papers were also being “provisionally” held back pending further communication with the relevant schools and students.
A spokesperson said: “A total of 38 Leaving Certificate results have been permanently withheld at the 2017 Leaving Certificate. This includes full results withheld, or marks withheld, from candidates found to be in breach of the SEC’s examinations regulations.”
There has been a noticeable increase in the use of technology – smartphones and social media – to cheat in state exams, the spokesperson said, as students have been caught in the past checking notes on phones and hiding phones in their socks during exams. Concealed paper notes are also still in practice as cheating aids.
If proven true, a breach of regulations could lead to students having their results withheld for a specific subject, or in serious cases, all results could be withheld and the student could be prohibited from repeating examinations.