Education piled on the uncertainty

The uncertainty for pupils caused by their dithering and indecision heaped even more unwanted pressure on them when Covid has already played havoc with their learning.

To make an announcement that international exams would go ahead using social media on a Saturday evening shows scant regard for all those affected – the push back has been concerted and highlighted a real concern that the committee did not fully comprehend what it all meant for the students.

The reversal just a few hours later to have a rethink, and yesterday’s climbdown, shows just how poorly thought through this all was.

Keep in mind that this is a committee that will remind anyone questioning it over future secondary education plans that it is engaging and consulting with all the ‘key stakeholders’.

It seems that philosophy was dropped this time.

A lag from Thursday to Saturday from the decision to the announcement was also unusual – Friday’s Covid press conference when the president appeared to discuss school reopenings would have been an ideal chance to explain the rationale in a public forum after telling students through their schools earlier in the day.

The subsequent pause left students and teachers in a period of purgatory.

It is a scenario that serves only to distract from Education’s announcement yesterday of its preferred way forward for restructuring secondary education and will undermine confidence before those plans have even had a chance to percolate into the discussion.

Pupils returning to school yesterday was a positive big step towards normality, but no one can argue that their learning has not suffered during the two periods of lockdown.

The impact will also be disproportionate, depending on the circumstances that the child found themselves in at home as well as the qualification they were studying.

No one should be disadvantaged further by government decision-making.