The timetable for the Leaving Cert exam is unreasonable and unfair, argues Seán Flynn, Education Editor

You know that old joke about waiting for a bus all day - and then two coming in quick succession? The Leaving Cert exam is like that. You wait six long years for your Leaving Cert to come around and then you find yourself facing two major exams - often in vastly different subjects - in one day.

And then there is a schedule which could mildly be described as punishing. Today, higher-level students will be sitting in the exam hall for six hours and 10 minutes, most of them writing well over 10,000 words.

It will be the same tomorrow and the next day. It gets worse next week where tired, exhausted students must switch over - in the course of a brief lunchbreak - from maths to geography. Tuesday brings more punishment - business and geography.

On Wednesday, students must take on business but - just in case they might be dawdling - the examiners throw in an afternoon history exam, clocking in at another three hours and 20 minutes.

This timetable is unreasonable and unfair. It begs the question: why can't the exams in major subjects be spread out over the three-week exam period, instead of being crammed into one short, sharp shock over the next seven days?

Minister for Education Mary Hanafin accepts that the current timetable is unreasonable and has tried to implement change. Last year, she proposed that the unseen papers (paper 1) in Irish and English should be taken earlier in the year in order to relieve the pressure.

And what happened? The school management bodies said take a running jump - or words to that effect. Any change in the timetable, they said, would present huge logistical difficulties and would represent an administrative nightmare. But they made no mention of the current timetabling nightmare for the 52,000 students taking the Leaving.

The Hanafin plan has, it seems, been shelved and reform of the exam timetable is off the agenda. But Hanafin - or her successor - should insist on change.

Brian Mooney, a columnist in this paper and a teacher of vast experience, has suggested a sensible compromise. He says the Leaving could be done in two parts, starting at the end of fifth year.

There would be no need for extra exam halls or school openings - and the exams would give a new focus to fifth-year school work. It is a sensible and worthy idea but no one in the school management bodies is listening.

The good news? One influential teachers' union is firmly on the side of the student.

The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) has called for a redraft of the examination timetable to distribute the core subjects of maths, English and Irish throughout the exams. The union has also suggested the extension by extra days of the examination period.

TUI president Tim O'Meara said last night: "We are calling for a staggering of the core subjects of maths, English and Irish over the examination period as a fairer alternative to the current system. As it stands, all three subjects require considerable effort over the course of the opening examination days, with two papers for each subject at all levels.

"It is not right that some students are 'unluckier' than others by having exams concentrated in a shorter time period than their peers. While this is partially unavoidable, the staggering of the core subjects would work towards greatly alleviating such inequalities.

"If adding an extra day or two to the examination period is necessary to alleviate pressure experienced by students, then this should be seriously considered so that every student has the best possible chance of success."