“The government’s reckless rush to jettison BTECs and similar qualifications before T-levels are properly embedded has been opposed by pretty much everybody in the education sector. We’ve repeatedly warned that this risks leaving many thousands of students without a viable post-16 pathway, causing huge damage to their future life chances.
“However, ministers have dug their heels in and appear to be determined to scrap a proven set of qualifications which lead to higher education, apprenticeships and careers without having the slightest idea of how well T-levels will work in practice. We can only hope that they now pay heed to the warnings of the Education Select Committee and introduce a more sensible and measured approach which is in the interests of young people.
“We also echo the committee’s call for a review of 16-19 funding. Even with recent and belated improvements in government funding, the allocations for post-16 education are hopelessly inadequate. The government constantly talks about a skills revolution but does not provide anything like the investment needed to turn this rhetoric into reality.”