Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson, Robbie Butler MLA, has expressed concern that the way forward proposed by the Education Minister and his officials doesn`t address the urgency of the situation facing many students. The Ulster Unionist Party will be supporting a recall of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Butler said:

“Regrettably what I heard today from the Education Minister and his officials at the Committee was an underwhelming response to an extraordinary situation. There are no easy answers, but they could go a lot further than they have to address the dire situation which some students now find themselves in.

“Given the problems with A-level results and the increased numbers involved in GCSEs, every avenue must be explored to get this right in advance of next week`s results. We will be supporting a recall of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

“I would urge the Minister to give serious consideration to following what has happened in Wales. As a matter of urgency, the priority should be to review all grades that have been marked down to ensure that every student is awarded the highest grade between what they achieved at AS-level or what they were given through CCEA scoring.

“The data is available to do that and the Minister did acknowledge that teachers had been more robust in their grades assessment.

“I believe a major problem we face if we follow the course set out by the Department of Education, is that there will be so many appeals that CCEA just won`t have the resources available to speedily and efficiently process each appeal within a period of time that will guarantee that no student will lose out on any offers of employment or higher education which were dependent on their grade attainment.

“We need to think about what is the most just and fair way to treat all our students so that they are not further disadvantaged in the days ahead.”