Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson, Robbie Butler MLA, has welcomed the announcement by the Education Minister that all A-Level and AS Students will now be awarded the higher of the grades submitted by their centre or the grade calculated by CCEA.
Robbie Butler said:
“I welcome the U-turn from the Education Minister on the A-Level results debacle. This is a fair and just resolution so that students can fairly make the decisions that best suit their future educational and career paths. I am glad that the Department of Education has now accepted that it is right to place trust in teachers to grade students’ A-Level work.
“However the question will be asked why did it have to be this way? This decision could have been made long before now, despite it being the only sensible option on the table. It`s very late in the day. Students have been put through immense stress. Given that mental health is the number one issue for young people this has only piled misery upon misery. The system has failed them up until now. Now it needs to deliver.
“Further questions arise such as how quickly can CCEA turn this around and get the regraded results out to the students affected? And what role are the universities going to carry out to play their part? They cannot close their eyes and ears to what is going on around them. There needs to be a collegiate approach to the solution for all students.”