THE Prime Minister has been told to “get a grip” by a former first minister for ignoring devolution with his new plans for education reform.
Speaking to the Tory party conference, Rishi Sunak announced his plan to scrap A-levels and replace it with a new qualification called the Advanced British Standard.
He explained: “A-level students generally only do three subjects compared to the seven studied by our economic competitors.
“Our 16 to 19-year-olds spend around a third less time in the classroom than some of our competitors.
“The Advanced British Standard will change that too, with students typically studying five subjects and thanks to the extra teaching time we are introducing, the great breadth won’t come at the expense of depth which is such a strength of our system.”
However, Sunak has faced a lot of criticism for the announcement - given it will only apply in England but uses the description "British" - including from former first minister Jack McConnell.
Writing on Twitter/X, he said: “The Prime Minister is responsible for education in England, not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
“So stop undermining students, teachers and everyone else involved across the UK by using a description that is not and will not be accurate.
“Stop the stunts and get a grip.”
Elsewhere, Scottish musician and National columnist Pat Kane reacted to the news, saying: “How can it be British if there’s a separate Scottish education/qualification… ah. Sorry. Forgot.
“And do you really think such militant Unionism won’t persist with a StarmLab playing to a Brexit vote?”
Teaching unions also hit out at the plans with Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, branding the government “out of touch” with immediate problems in the system including recruitment and crumbling school buildings.
Daniel Kebede, meanwhile, general secretary of the National Education Union, accused the PM of “doubling down on pie-in-the-sky education policies”.
“He is completely out of touch with reality," Kebede said.
