Primary schools have been told to disregard a fake circular claiming to be from the Department of Education directing them to remain open for some of the Easter holidays in light of recent school closures linked to adverse weather.
The department was alerted to a document circulating in WhatsApp groups online last Thursday afternoon which claimed to announce new measures for primary schools to make up for lost tuition time following Storm Éowyn.
The fake circular – with the title “Arrangements for making up days in light of school closures in primary schools for 2024/26 school year” – said schools which had been forced to close for more than three days due to adverse weather conditions should remain open for the first three days of the Easter break in order to compensate for lost instructional time.
In addition, it said any “discretionary” days where schools were scheduled to close in April, May or June may be cancelled to address any remaining shortfalls.
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The fake circular advised schools to communicate the changes to parents at the “earliest opportunity” and that any circumstances requiring deviation the directive should be discussed the school inspectorate.
A department spokesman said: “The department was made aware of a document purporting to be a circular to primary schools on Thursday afternoon and sent a clarification to all primary schools at 6pm on Thursday.”
One member of a school board of management, who asked not to be named, said the appearance of the circular was “very convincing” and praised the quick response of the department.
“This really is in the realms of a deep fake; the wording, the appearance, the Department of Education logo and circular number,” the source said. “It is worrying. Presumably AI tools are making this much easier to produce.”
Another said the quick response from the department meant the misinformation did not gain kind of traction it might have done otherwise.
“All principals received a message from the department, so even if it did spread on social media, they knew it was false,” one educator said.
There is speculation within schools about who would have been motivated to produce a fake circular and whether they were trying to prove a point around disruption to schools.
Some schools have lost up to 10 days this year as a result of adverse weather conditions and power cuts.
Under existing circulars, schools are given significant flexibility to decide how to make up any shortfalls as a result of unforeseen closures.
For example, schools may prioritise tuition over other non-tuition activities such as school tours for the remainder of the calendar year.
Schools are also permitted to open during midterm and the Easter break in the event of prolonged closures if necessary. In practice, however, many principals say this is not practical as staff and families have often booked holidays or trips away.
