Liam Herrick

The watchdog today announced that it had used its legal powers under section 32(1)(a) of the 2014 IHREC Act to invite the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to carry out an equality review of its services, and that the SEC has accepted the invitation.

The SEC, as the statutory body mandated to run state examinations, is responsible for setting the criteria and processing applications for reasonable accommodation from students undertaking State examinations under the Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE) Scheme.

The Commission invited the SEC to conduct an equality review in relation to the RACE Scheme, to address the issue of accessibility of State exams for candidates with a visual impairment, and specifically to address the provision of accessible modified papers, provision of additional time arrangements, and digital paper delivery and form to candidates with a visual impairment.

In particular, as part of the equality review, the Commission invited the SEC to:

• conduct an audit of the level of equality of opportunity that exists for candidates with a visual impairment on the issue of accessibility of State exams;
• identify all relevant current practices, procedures or other factors (for example, strategies, plans and positive action initiatives) that relate to the issue of accessibility of State examinations for candidates with a visual impairment;
• assess the effectiveness of such practices, procedures and other factors in relation to the accessibility of State examinations and the equality of opportunity of candidates with a visual impairment; and
• outline any recommendations and/or findings from the equality review.

Chief commissioner Liam Herrick said: “Sitting an examination can be stressful experience in itself, without facing additional challenges. Success in an exam, which often has significant, sometimes life-defining consequences, should come down to the student’s merit, ability and hard work in their subject, rather than their disability.

“Equality reviews are an important opportunity for an organisation to reflect on its systems and practices and to assess the level of equality of opportunity within that organisation and identify how it can do better to promote equality of opportunity.

“We welcome SEC’s willingness to engage in an equality review.”