NI Conservatives’ education spokesman, Mark Brotherston, has claimed the Stormont education minister, John O’Dowd, runs a real risk of leaving pupils from Northern Ireland with devalued qualifications.
He made his comments after Michael Gove, the secretary of state for education, acknowledged that his counterparts in Northern Ireland and Wales intend to take a different approach to reforming GCSEs and A Levels.
“This is an alarming development”, Mark said. “In England Michael Gove is attempting to get to grips with the reasons that some employers and universities view GCSEs in particular as a devalued qualification. It is absolutely necessary that the government acts in order to equip young people to compete in a global market for jobs and education. It would be a scandal if pupils in Northern Ireland were left behind.”
“As NI Conservatives we believe that every pupil should receive an excellent education and we also believe that academic ability should be recognised and rewarded. It is imperative that Northern Ireland develops the best exam system possible and maintains its competitiveness. John O’Dowd should not stand in the way of progress and should not prevent our exam system from keeping up with developments elsewhere.”