LISTEN: MLAs to meet to discuss exam results and school reopening

By Peter Moor

The Stormont Assembly will be recalled from summer recess on Tuesday to debate the furore caused by the centralised formula designed to rule out anomalies caused by individual schools or teachers.

It follows the u-turn from the Education Minister, Peter Weir, on changes to A Level grades meaning that students will receive whichever result is highest between their teacher prediction, or grade awarded by the CCEA exam board.

Today's recall meeting was initially scheduled for today by the SDLP, with a number of other political parties supporting the return of the Assembly from its ongoing summer break.

However, it is currently unclear what exactly will be discussed at today's meeting as the motion originally tabled by the SDLP must be discussed under Assembly rules.

It is thought that the Speaker of the Assembly will be considering any potential amendments to the original motion, with this decision dictating what form today's debate will take.

Regardless of what form today's Assembly debate takes, the Education Committee is also expected to meet where its members will probe the Education Minister on the issue of the return of schools here.

Queen's University

Meanwhile, the u-turn on exam results has caused Queen's University to release a statement saying they require "clarity as a matter of urgency" on a number of issues following yesterday's announcement.

It says the university does not yet have access to the new Centre Assessed Grades which Peter Weir announced yesterday could be used by students as their A Level grades.

The university is also calling for clarity on how many students it can offer places to in the light of the new A Level grade change.

It relates to a student numbers cap controlled by the Department of the Economy which restricts the number of students from Northern Ireland and the EU that local universities here can recruit.

Ulster University said it is “actively preparing” for the anticipated additional demand.

Ulster University, Magee Campus

“Students are our absolute priority and we will be as flexible as possible in order to accommodate the maximum number of students possible within our existing funding and the additional flexibility already provided by Department for the Economy,” the university said in a statement.

“We are actively preparing for the anticipated additional demand by building in additional places for some of our most popular courses including Computer Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Law, Accounting, and Personalised Medicine”.

In response to their calls for more flexibility, the Economy Minister, Diane Dodds has released the following statement: “Our priority must be the educational interests of our young people. I believe that the consequences of the latest decisions on A levels must be faced up to.

.@Economy_NI Minister comments on university admissions.

“I support the universities in their assessment of the extra burdens and requirement that this will place upon them.” @DianeDoddsMLA pic.twitter.com/jXHkk0aoWV

— Economy NI (@Economy_NI) August 18, 2020

"I support the universities in their assessment of the extra burdens and requirement that this will place upon them. Additional places and extra resources will be required and I will be working with Executive colleagues to ensure this happens as soon possible.”

Speaking about the student cap, the SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood MP has called the cap "economic madness."

If ever there was a time to scrap the cap on student numbers it's now. A crazy economic policy. Skills are key to building a fair and prosperous society.

— Colum Eastwood (@columeastwood) August 18, 2020

The Foyle MP spoke to Q Radio about the issue:

However, fellow MP for North Down, Stephen Farry, said it was "not realistic" to completely abolish the cap.

The Alliance Deputy Leader and former Minister for Employment and Learning tweeted the following in reply to Colum Eastwood.

This is not realistic. People need to make distinction between raising the cap v abolishing the cap. The cap is a product of NI not doing full cost recovery on student places as our tuition fees are lower than England and NI Executive must cover costs. No cap means higher fees.

— Stephen Farry (@StephenFarryUU) August 18, 2020

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MLA Caoimhe Archibald has urged Mr Weir and exams board CCEA to ensure grades are communicated as quickly as possible.

“It is imperative the Education Minister and CCEA now ensure that these grades are communicated to students, universities and colleges as quickly as possible to provide clarity to young people,” she said.

“The delay in adopting this approach has caused stress and anxiety for many young people and their families; it has also caused confusion and delayed the admissions process for universities and colleges.”

She added: “The Economy Minister needs to clarify what the impact of grades changes will mean for admissions and the number of places at our universities.”