At the moment, in my school, they are offering an Engineering NVQ, which includes 100% coursework, yet is somehow equivalent to 5 A*'s at GCSE...

I find it absurd how one course could give a 'reward' that is up to five times greater than a different course.

BBC News - Most GCSE equivalents cut from league tables

A quote that i think sums up these "equivalent courses";
"For too long the system has been devalued by attempts to pretend that all qualifications are intrinsically the same. Young people have taken courses that have led nowhere."

This quote is quite infuriating to be honest, deputy head of Chiswick community school in W. London;
"What we don't want to do is to create a situation where students are set up to fail on courses that they find very hard."

I might have read this wrong, but is he saying that it is good that students are offered "easy courses" which give higher merits, than harder subjects that only give the equivalent of one GCSE?

What are your thoughts?