Cancel Northern Ireland's GCSE & A-Level exams
The Issue
Education Minister Peter Weir has continuously disadvantaged Northern Ireland's young people over the course of the last 8 months. Now, with the 2021 exams looming, our best interests can no longer be ignored.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Mr Weir promised that exams would still be going ahead - they were later cancelled. In the build up to results day, even after the disaster which was Scotland's failed marking algorithm, he insisted that his was "robust" - as we are all too aware, it was not. One week before part-time learning was due to start, he decided that all pupils would return full-time. This prompted stress amongst teaching staff, students, and their families, resulting in an anxious and poorly-planned return to school. COVID-19 cases quickly rose and the phrase "that class is off for 2 weeks" became as common as a stalemate between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
His lack of action and urgency in his matter has already caused undue mental stress to young adults and impacted their ability to compete on a level playing field with the rest of the UK and Europe. This is without mentioning his decision to completely disregard the 2019-2020 academic year for this year's Year 12's & 14's. In essence, a double-hit for those students. Furthermore, he has advised his department to continuously manipulate the data on absences due to Covid to portray a false image of the impact on education.
In late 2020, after Scotland's cancellation of all Level 5 examinations and Wales' decision to cancel all GCSE and A-Levels, Peter Weir insists that Northern Ireland's children have absolutely nothing to worry about, tests will still go ahead this summer.
This is wrong. We, Northern Ireland's young people, as well as our teachers, are being blatantly ignored. We are being led by a man who has demonstrated the complete inability to listen to those he is being paid to look after. Exams should be cancelled - in-class, teacher assessments should be used in their place. This way, students can put in the work now, whilst we are still in school, instead of being handed empty promises.
We are stressed, anxious and demotivated. There is no perfect answer, but the current solution is certainly one of the worst.
The Issue
Education Minister Peter Weir has continuously disadvantaged Northern Ireland's young people over the course of the last 8 months. Now, with the 2021 exams looming, our best interests can no longer be ignored.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Mr Weir promised that exams would still be going ahead - they were later cancelled. In the build up to results day, even after the disaster which was Scotland's failed marking algorithm, he insisted that his was "robust" - as we are all too aware, it was not. One week before part-time learning was due to start, he decided that all pupils would return full-time. This prompted stress amongst teaching staff, students, and their families, resulting in an anxious and poorly-planned return to school. COVID-19 cases quickly rose and the phrase "that class is off for 2 weeks" became as common as a stalemate between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
His lack of action and urgency in his matter has already caused undue mental stress to young adults and impacted their ability to compete on a level playing field with the rest of the UK and Europe. This is without mentioning his decision to completely disregard the 2019-2020 academic year for this year's Year 12's & 14's. In essence, a double-hit for those students. Furthermore, he has advised his department to continuously manipulate the data on absences due to Covid to portray a false image of the impact on education.
In late 2020, after Scotland's cancellation of all Level 5 examinations and Wales' decision to cancel all GCSE and A-Levels, Peter Weir insists that Northern Ireland's children have absolutely nothing to worry about, tests will still go ahead this summer.
This is wrong. We, Northern Ireland's young people, as well as our teachers, are being blatantly ignored. We are being led by a man who has demonstrated the complete inability to listen to those he is being paid to look after. Exams should be cancelled - in-class, teacher assessments should be used in their place. This way, students can put in the work now, whilst we are still in school, instead of being handed empty promises.
We are stressed, anxious and demotivated. There is no perfect answer, but the current solution is certainly one of the worst.
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Petition created on 10 November 2020