Ministers are under fire for reneging on their promise to axe a “small” proportion of BTECs and other applied general qualifications, as new analysis reveals that more than half will be scrapped by government edict.
A cross-party group of peers led by Lord Blunkett has vowed to confront education secretary Gillian Keegan on the issue. “This, at best, is an act of considerable bad faith and, at worst, an indication that the government’s word isn’t worth the paper it was written on,” Blunkett said.
College leaders have warned the “ideologically driven” reform could cause “significant chaos”, as the plans would wipe out provision currently offered to almost two-thirds of sixth-form college students and almost a third of courses available in general FE colleges.
