Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Tomorrow is a day which will be alife-changing one for many pupils in Northern Ireland. Of course, 2020 is a radically different year for A level students due to the pandemic and we all understand that unusual challenges are being faced by all involved, including CCEA. However, exams and any replacement to them should be about judging the pupil, not his or her school. Each student has a public law right to procedural fairness. As things stand, I suspect that the process is wide open to multiple judicial reviews.
“Putting on the pupils of 2020 the failings of a school in former years and conversely upgrading other pupils because of the good record of their school in previous years is manifestly unfair. It is deplorable that CCEA has yet to disclose the weighting being given to past school performance and that the model used in determining a grade is outside the ambit of any appeal process. Looking ahead, for GCSE grades the prospect could be even more unfair as there are no ASs to act as a point of reference.
“I am astounded that there appears to have been no Ministerial or Executive input into the standardisation process. Why on earth was this? It has been clear for months that the results coming out tomorrow were going to be the subject to intense scrutiny because of the unusual times in which we live yet less than 24 hours before envelopes arrive on doormats across Northern Ireland there is serious public unease about the results.
“It seems to me that it comes down to a simple issue – does the CCEA trust the teachers or not? Scotland was forced to find reverse gear on this matter very late in the day. Stormont needs to learn the lesson and ensure that the Northern Ireland pupils of 2020 are not disadvantaged in comparison to their counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom.”