Plans to scrap GCSEs have been abandoned

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BBCPlans to scrap GCSEs in key subjects in England and replace them with an English Baccalaureate Certificate seem set to be abandoned by the government.

The major reversal is expected to be announced, alongside changes to the curriculum, in the Commons later. Education Secretary Michael Gove had planned to bring in the baccalaureate certificate from autumn 2015.

Labour said it was a "humiliating climbdown" for Mr Gove and the NUT said it was "delighted" by his "U-turn". Plans for the new qualification, which was announced last September, seem set to be shelved, with GCSEs expected to be retained, despite having been condemned by the education secretary.

The arrival of the new qualifications had been billed as a return to an O-level style traditional qualification, but the proposals were met by intense criticism from teachers' unions. The plan to have one exam board for each subject is also set to be scrapped. Doubts had been raised about the feasibility of awarding the franchises for subjects within the timetable set for the new qualifications, which were to be taught from autumn 2015. Exam regulator Ofqual had written to Mr Gove suggesting that this should not go ahead at the same time as the other changes planned for GCSEs and A-levels.

Last week a report from the Commons education select committee had issued a "red light" warning to the government, urging it to slow down and rethink its proposed changes to GCSEs and the exam system. The cross-party report warned that the proposed changes were being rushed and risked damaging the exam system. MPs' criticisms had been echoed by teachers and head teachers' unions.

Mr Gove is expected to announce changes to the performance measures used in school league tables. There will be a new eight-subject measure of GCSEs, including English and maths, three subjects out of sciences, languages, history and geography and three other subjects, such as art, music or RE. Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said on Twitter that such accountability measures would be vital "because no exam system, reformed or not, can survive the current pressures and incentives".

The announcements on abandoning plans for the new qualifications come alongside the publication of changes to the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. Details are to be published later, but Mr Gove has already set out the principles of a new curriculum. He has argued that there should be a clear set of core information that pupils should learn in areas such as maths, science, history and literature.

Labour's shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg, who said that Mr Gove should have heeded the advice of head teachers and business leaders, attacked the exam plans as having been put together "on the back of an envelope". "Pupils and parents need certainty now. Michael Gove must now make clear whether he will abandon his narrow, out-of-date plans altogether or merely try to delay them. "He needs to go back to the drawing board and develop a curriculum and exam system that meets our future challenges as a country. "Labour wants to work with the government to forge a long-term consensus on exam and curriculum reform. We would welcome cross-party talks."

The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Christine Blower, welcomed the news. "We are absolutely delighted that Michael Gove has had to do a U-turn on this," she said. "We have amassed a very big coalition of our own around the fact that introducing the E-Bacc was entirely the wrong thing to do, certainly in the kind of timescale that Mr Gove had in mind, so we think this is a very good move and we're very pleased."

Source. Thoughts?

Reply 1

Birkenhead

3

Loving how they released this not only the day after PMQ's Wednesday but in the early hours of the day after PMQ's Wednesday. For a government so aware of such tiny strategic details it's a marvel they can't get their act together to decide at the outset whether such a major policy will be viable or not.

Reply 2

lbsf1

2

The simple reason for this is that Micheal Gove is a knob. He has his own idea's in his own little world, he never asks anyone else who will have to deal with his plans how they feel about them. He just wants to leave his mark on political history (whether it good or bad). He is a complete control freak, he wants the whole of education to be to his plan down to the last detail. He was trying push through what he thought should be specific topic in the history GCSE, does the minister of health tell GP's what medicines they should prescribe, no he doesn't so why should the minister of education get this involved with the actual teaching.

He is the MP for my constituency and I have NEVER seen him doing anything. The only way to contact him is through his official westminister email address, and even though his office is less than a mile from my house I have NEVER heard of anything in our local papers or when I'm out about him doing anything in the community or even listening to what people say.

These GCSE changes were badly thought out and rushed through, they would have caused apsolute turmoil in the system as whole schools would have to be re arranged to suit his changes. Gove's ideas seem to forget what education actually is, its preparing you for life, forcing people to learn traditional subject doesn't do that. 95% of people will have no use for a history, geography or language GCSE, so forcing people to do these instead of qualifications which will set people up better for their life.

In all Micheal Gove is a sly little bastard who wants to make his mark in politics, he isn't doing what is best for the country instead he does whats best for his career (announcing the A level changes a couple of hours after Cameron anounced the europe referendum so not to cause as much of a backlash)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

Enigma Machine

20

ffs Gove

I believe secondary education should be a 360 degree education - a renaissance education. We should learn about all sorts of things, Literature, Sciences, Maths, Humanities, Languages and probably an art as well. Then we can specialise after secondary education.

I say schools here should be exactly like Finnish schools. But that's unfortunately not going to happen for a very long time because of these perfidious and insidious "league tables"

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

username321708

2

I'm glad he has scrapped these plans. Surely it was such a momumental and most-ignorable red flag when so many people in the teaching profession and academia were telling him his plans were ill-thought out and too swiftly implemented. However, wasn't Gove the one who made GCSEs and A levels from 2013 marked by terminal examinary assessment, wth the scrapping of January exams? I'm in favour of this, though I know many are not.

I hope he feels embarrassed and ridiculed that it has taken him months to heed the warnings of so many who are frankly much more knowledgeable and experienced than himself. I just don't know how it possibly took him so long to realise. Surely a few meetings with heads from the teaching and academic sphere would have made it quite evident that he was pursuing the wrong course of action? Or did he not think to ask them because he is having his moment of glory up in that tower of parliamentary power?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

lizz-ie

18

In the next election, if a party said that they would sack Gove, I'd vote for them. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 6

lbsf1

2

Original post by lizz-ie

In the next election, if a party said that they would sack Gove, I'd vote for them. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Sadly though as long as he is a conservative going for Surrey Heath he will always get in.

Reply 7

Aspiringlawstudent

3

Get it together, Gove.

Reply 8

Reynolds's#

16

Not too surprised this happened really. There was bound to be an uproar since his announced his plans.

Reply 9

Motorbiker

21

They seem to not be able to make up their minds...

They have some good ideas some of the time but don't know how to implement them properly it seems.

Reply 10

Tokyoround

16

Awful back-pedalling. If his idea was really well-thought out and he had previously considered all outcomes, he would have stuck by his guns regardless, but now he looks like a tool.

Michael Gove has no clue at all about education. He's trying to change our school system in to some fantasy world that is only in his head and has no evidence to back it up from the real world. He's not got the confidence of anyone who knows anything about education and I can't see how his position as education secretary is tenable any longer. He is making one big mistake after another and we cannot go on like this. He is just sapping moral from our teacher and education professionals and destroying our education system bit by bit.

So, whilst I am really pleased to see the major u-turn today on EBC, but I have absolutely no faith that whatever else he comes up with will be any good. There is just so much wrong with almost everything he's tried to do over the last two and a half years.

Mr Gove - hands off our education system the people of the country will fight and oppose everything you try to do which damages it until you are gone.

This battle is won, but the war is far from over.

Reply 12

Zizzard

I think i'd be scared to find out how much time, effort and resources (talking salaries) has been spent on this by Gove and his team.

In other news, people need to check out my new discussion: Michael Gove: What would have been a better use of his time - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2252788

Reply 13

F1's Finest

21

Michael Gove, :facepalm2:

.

The guy has no clue, man.

Reply 14

py0alb

3

My opinion is that Mr Gove should resign as an MP with immediate effect. The entire affair has been a complete shambles and he has to carry the can for that.

The English education system DOES desperately need completely reforming. However his plans were worse than what we already have, which is ****ing saying something.

Original post by py0alb

My opinion is that Mr Gove should resign as an MP with immediate effect. The entire affair has been a complete shambles and he has to carry the can for that.

The English education system DOES desperately need completely reforming. However his plans were worse than what we already have, which is ****ing saying something.

I'd love to see him go as an MP, but I'd be happy with him resigning as education secretary (as this is the job he's really under performing at). I wouldn't even give him a satisfactory rating for his work...and as we keep hearing, if a school is deemed 'satisfactory' it's still not good enough. So clearly Mr Gove is not good enough and needs to be fundamentally changed...into someone else.

It's the only way any sort of confidence in regards to the education of the Government can be regained. He's had his chance and failed and now needs to go.

Reply 16

SciFiRory

16

glad they dropped the plans as they seemed pretty ill thought out, just hope they do the same for the rest of Gollum Gove's education ideas.

I haven't had any confidence in this government to deliver on education since it was elected...I have 0 confidence in Tories to do anything other than look after their own and **** up things for everyone else...which is just about the only thing they have done since coming to power.

Reply 17

naseem hossen

we have a messed up education system. it looks like the conservartives are not helping to solve our problems but only making things worse. i do hope for the best to come in the future.