Kunle ready for exams he very nearly missed

He may be the best-known Leaving Cert student, but now Kunle Elukanlo, briefly deported this year, just wants to sit his exams, writes John Downes.

Sitting in the living room of the house he shares with several others in Palmerstown in Dublin, Olukunle (Kunle) Elukanlo from Nigeria is like any other Leaving Certificate student preparing to sit their exams later tomorrow.

With his past exam papers and sample questions open in front of him, like so many others he is engaged in last-minute cramming, trying to memorise the numerous facts and figures necessary to perform well in the State exams.

Kunle (20) is not just any ordinary Leaving Cert student, having become the subject of a high-profile campaign after he was forcibly deported from the State.

Were it not for the efforts of his classmates, he would not have been sitting his exams at all.

Slightly-built and softly-spoken, Kunle is bemused by the attention. He has to pinch himself to believe that his case, one among so many, produced such dramatic results.

The recent report that a classmate and friend of his, Tunde Omoniyi, is also facing deportation serves to underline just how fortunate he and his supporters have been.

In forcing the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to overturn his deportation order, they have succeeded where many others have failed.

Kunle has grown used to the constant media coverage - not all of it favourable - of his case, and the accompanying requests for his time.

But while anxious to "keep everybody happy", he is also keen to focus on the job in hand - namely, studying as hard as he can for this week's exams.

Kunle's typical study day varies greatly, depending on whether he is working in his part-time job or not, he says.

Although he stopped working at his local Super Valu supermarket last Sunday - just for the duration of the exams - as a student trying to support himself and pay his rent, he had no choice but continue to work up until that point.

Involving on average two to three evenings a week, as well as weekends, he has had to fit his study schedule around these demands.

"We just finished school last week," he says. "But I go into school in the morning until about 12, then I come back home and study maybe three or four hours. Then if I'm in work I rest a little bit."

He is quite matter-of-fact about the need to support himself. He will, he says, do a big shop soon to get him through the exam period, so that he knows exactly how much money he has to spend.

Instead of having to scrimp and save all the time, this should allow him to focus on getting the results he needs.

"If I leave my job [for good] there's no way I can pay for my rent or my own food," he explains. "I've tried to save some money [to cover the exam period]. This week now, I'm going to do all my shopping for a month. I just want to not have to worry about that."

Despite the extra classes laid on for him at school when he returned, his preparation for the Leaving Cert has inevitably been affected by a nearly three-week absence from school last March and the trauma this provoked, he acknowledges.

He also faces an uncertain future in Ireland, for a number of reasons. Many observers think it is likely he will be allowed to remain here on a permanent basis, saying it would be almost impossible for the Government to deport him, given the negative publicity this would generate.

The official line is less clear, however. A spokesman for the Department of Justice says it is not possible to state at this stage whether Kunle will be granted an extension to the six-month student visa issued to him amid such controversy last April.

Even if he is granted such an extension, as a non-EU citizen, Kunle says he faces an uphill struggle to pay the fees of some €4,000 a year for the course of his choice - a PLC course in engineering at Greenhills College, in Dublin 12.

From there, he would like to be able to undertake a full engineering degree at Tallaght IT, again while paying full fees. So much depends on the type of visa he is provided with, as according to the Department of Education, simply being a student on a student visa will not qualify him for free fees.

To do this, he must either be an EU citizen, married to an EU citizen, have applied for refugee status or have been granted leave to remain in the State as an asylum seeker. His close friend, Neil Burke, who played a central part in the campaign to have Kunle returned, says his friends are going to see what they can do to help him, once the exams are out of the way.

This might include a fundraising drive to secure the necessary finance for him to pursue his chosen course. These are all questions for the future. In the meantime, like his counterparts around the country, Kunle is trying to concentrate on his exams.

He says he "doesn't know" how he will feel on the first day of the exam, but admits he does get stressed.

"Yes, of course, it's too much stress for me. But you just try your best."

Kunle's Leaving Cert timetable

Tomorrow:

English (ordinary level) - Papers 1 and 2

Thursday, June 9th

Mathematics (foundation level) Paper 1

Monday June, 13th

Mathematics (foundation level) Paper 2

Tuesday, June 14th

Biology (ordinary level)

Thursday, June 16th

Art (ordinary level)

Wednesday, June 22nd

Construction Studies (ordinary level)