LONDON (Reuters) – The government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday faced fresh criticism over the treatment of school diplomas after results were drawn for hundreds of thousands of students.
People take part in a protest over the government’s handling of exam results, outside the Department of Education, amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, UK, 20 August 2020. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been accused of overseeing a fiasco on how degrees were awarded to teens who were unable to take their exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exam board Pearson announced late on Wednesday that it would recalculate grades for BTECs, specializing in work-related qualifications, just hours before students were due to receive their results.
The decision comes days after the government bowed to pressure from angry students, teachers and lawmakers and shut down an algorithm that had downgraded A-level results for nearly 40% of school leavers last week, with those in inferior areas more negatively impacted.
Students were told Monday that they would now get the rank that their teachers had predicted for them based on past performance, and that process is also being adopted for younger students who will receive their GCSE results on Thursday.
However, Pearson said that change meant it had to be now to change its BTEC degrees.
“We are concerned about injustice, including consistency with the approach currently being used for GCSE and A Levels,” it said in a statement.
Williamson has been accused of ignoring warnings that the rating system would lead to unfair results and both he and Johnson have been through the media lamp for their handling of the issue.
“Every step of the way there are issues that you have to face and deal with, and we have dealt with them,” School Minister Nick Gibb told BBC television. “We work, as I said, night and day to get these problems right.”
He dismissed Williamson’s apology for the uncertainty and confusion caused.
“Gavin Williamson was repeatedly warned about the problems with the rating algorithm, and each time he did nothing,” said Kate Green, the Labor Party’s opposition spokeswoman. “This endless pattern of incompetence is no way of running a country.”
(This story refills to fix spelling mistakes in first paragraph)
Report by Michael Holden, Additional Reporting by Sarah Young; edited by Kate Holton
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