Education 'does not want to create an exam factory'
UNCERTAINTY is never good in the lead-up to exams and students would have reacted to the debate over the future of secondary education in different ways, the Education minister said yesterday.
Robert Sillars was speaking after his department released provisional statistics which showed the overall GCSE pass rate for students achieving five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, was down by 10% on last year.
While saying it was not an excuse, Deputy Sillars acknowledged the unavoidable uncertainty over the future of secondary education and possible school closures was not ideal.
There had also been uncertainty in the UK with regards to exams, he added.
'Each student is different and reacts in different ways, it can't be helped,' he said.
