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The National Council for the Training of Journalists has announced the results of the Spring 2001 National Certificate Examination, which achieved an overall pass rate of 43 per cent.

A total of 258 candidates sat the Examination in April at 15 centres. The National Certificate was awarded to 110 candidates.

The pass rate is up on the 40 per cent from a year ago and an improvement on the low of 35 per cent for September.

There was scant praise in the examiners' reports, which have highlighted common errors or difficulties for candidates and suggested where there is room for discussion among editors and trainers.

In Newspaper Practice, "The number of candidates achieving 60 percent and above in this section of the examination was once again depressingly low."

A question about a talking newspaper for the blind prompted the examiners to ask if there was a subconscious unease among young reporters dealing with disabled issues.

"The moderator couldn't help thinking that this happened so often that it suggested a mere token approach to a class of persons in whose presence candidates might feel uncomfortable," the report said.

"What personal contact do trainees have with disadvantaged groups? Not forgetting the need for politically correct terminology, are trainees being taught to be at ease with and write sensitively about such groups?"

On the interview paper, the examiners' report lamented: "Once again, one is forced to conclude that many trainees are churning out stories week after week without anyone questioning their news sense."

Some candidates completely missed key elements or buried them in their story.

"Is their copy on their newspapers no longer being carefully scrutinised by their seniors? Are they not being asked to rewrite their stories if they bury the headline angles? These are questions that must be asked."

It was also noted that the use of apostrophes continues to puzzle some trainees, who either ignored them completely or scattered them about in the hope that some would land in the right place.

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