Universities are warning that they don’t have capacity to offer places to everyone affected by errors in the Leaving Cert calculated grades process.

The Education Minister Norma foley yesterday confirmed that around 6,500 students were handed a lower grade than they should have been.

She said there were two errors in the computer code used to generate the marks.

The Department of Education has said anyone who is now entitled to a different course will be offered a place.

Norma Foley. Photograph: RollingNews.ie / JULIEN BEHAL PHOTOGRAPHY

However, the Irish Universities Association is warning that for many, this will not be possible.

IUA Director General Jim Miley said many courses are already maxed out.

“Because of those extra places that are already in the system, there simply are not places left in some courses,” he said.

“We hope that students can be accommodated but it may well be a situation where there simply is not a place for a student on certain courses.

“In that scenario, the only option is to offer them a place but it would have to be deferred until next year.”

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris for a Cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

It is not yet known exactly how many extra places will be needed; however, the Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has warned that it could be as high as 1,000.

More than 2,000 extra places were already made available in a bid to account for expected grade inflation before the results were released.

Mr Miley said students should remain calm over the coming days and wait and see how things play out.

“Where possible, Universities will be as flexible as possible in facilitating a change, provided there is ap lace available on the higher preference course,” he said.

“The advice for students is hold out another few days and hopefully we will get this information from the Department of Education as soon as possible and certainly universities will lose no time in processing that information as soon as they receive it.”

Labour Leader Alan Kelly, 19-08-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Responding the announcement yesterday, the Labour leader Alan Kelly said the way the class of 2020 has been treated is ‘heart-breaking and disgraceful.’

Social Democrats education spokesperson Gary Gannon described the news as 'scandalous', while Sinn Féin said it was an 'extraordinary development.'

The coding error saw some students’ Junior Cert results factored in incorrectly.

Instead of combining their Junior Cert results in Irish, English and Maths with their two best core subjects, the programme factored in their two worst.

It also factored in CSPE results, instead of discarding them.

Around 7,200 grades and 6,500 students have been impacted.

A helpline for Leaving Cert students has been opened on 01-889-2199.