Education Minister Peter Weir stops short of ruling out cancelling all NI 2021 school exams

The DUP MLA for Strangord is vehemently opposed to the idea of cancelling exams but said he was “conscious that the public health situation remains fluid”.

Minister Weir was reacting to the news that, due to Covid-19, the department of education in Wales announced its decision to cancel all school exams in 2021

“I am disappointed that Wales has acted unilaterally to move away from the three-country arrangement for GCSEs, AS and A-levels.”

Minister Weir also expressed concern over the comparable nature between normal exams and the grades school children in Wales will now receive.

“These new proposals appear radically different from England and NI and call into question whether these qualifications can be treated as comparable to GCSEs and A Levels awarded through examinations.

“Rather than alleviate stress amongst learners, I believe the Welsh proposals for teacher-managed assessments, and the lack of clarity about what these will actually entail, are likely to significantly increase anxiety levels which will further impact pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.”

Asked explicitly if he had any plans to follow in the footsteps of his Welsh counterparts, Minister Weir listed the possible negative impact on a child’s education cancelling exams could have but stopped short of ruling it out completely.

“My priority is that exams to award CCEA qualifications should go ahead as planned in 2021.

“I am conscious that the public health situation remains fluid, therefore my officials are working closely with CCEA to develop a range of further contingencies should the public health situation worsen.”

Minister Weir added: “However the experience of 2020 has shown us that exams remain the fairest method of assessing and awarding qualifications.

“In these uncertain times, the familiarity of the exam system provides greater certainty as learners know what they are working towards and how it will be awarded.”

Minister Weir hinted that he was confident the changes he has made as Education Minister could mean Northern Ireland might be able to avoid a situation where it would have to make a decision to cancel school exams.

“We have already made significant changes to CCEA qualifications, reducing the number of exams pupils will need to take and accounting for lost face to face teaching time.

“I will be seeking urgent clarification from the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) about the awarding of their qualifications in NI and we will work to ensure that NI learners are not disadvantaged.”

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