A Lichfield councillor says the Department for Education “must do better” following the A-Levels controversy.
The Government had originally used an algorithm to calculate results after exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.
But after a backlash from schools and students, the Government has now reversed the decision and opted to use teacher assessments to determine grades.
Cllr Dave Robertson, Labour representative for the Curborough ward and an organiser for teaching trade union NASUWT, said the chaos should have been resolved long before the eventual u-turn.
“The problems with the algorithm should have been corrected before results were finalised and published.
“Someone at the Department for Education should have spotted that the algorithm was punishing some pupils based solely on their postcode – someone should have seen that this was unfair.
“That no one acted to prevent this from happening before it happened shows serious problems with the decision making processes in Whitehall.
“The Department for Education must do better.”
Cllr Dave Robertson
The change of position has seen many students who were rejected now looking at whether their original places were available.
Cllr Robertson said the Government needed to manage the impact of the A-Levels controversy.
“Unfortunately there are yet more questions to ask about the future.
“There’s now a need for support for universities, both with courses which now need to honour offers they weren’t expecting too and end up over subscribed and courses which end up undersubscribed as a result of the government’s mishandling of the situation.
“The Higher Education Restructuring Scheme announced earlier this year isn’t the answer to the support the universities will need.
“The Government has caused this problem for providers and the Government should be making sure that provision doesn’t suffer because of it.
“The UK has a world class tertiary education and research sector and it would be unthinkable to sacrifice any of that because no one at the Deparment for Education was able to get a handle on this and stop the chaos before it began
“Crucially, the Government also needs to look at support for students, particularly around housing and halls of residence.
“Unfortunately for many young people the decision taken yesterday doesn’t spell the end of the uncertainty and the Government doesn’t have long to act before term starts next month.”
Cllr Dave Robertson
