Ministers must halt their controversial planned bonfire of BTECs and other level 3 qualifications until there is evidence T Levels are a “more effective” replacement, a committee of MPs has warned.
The House of Commons education committee has called for a moratorium on the government’s plan to defund a raft of applied general qualifications (AGQs), warning a “clear track record” of T Level success should be a “prerequisite” to their defunding.
The committee made the demand as it published the findings of its inquiry into reform of post-16 qualifications, in which it also urged the government to address the fall in young people taking apprenticeships, called for a “wholesale review” of 16 to 19 funding, and proposed an independent expert panel to look at the possibility of adopting a post-16 baccalaureate model in England.
Department for Education officials are working to introduce a streamlined system for students finishing their GCSEs that pushes them to study either A-levels, their new technical equivalent T Levels, or an apprenticeship from 2025.
