Statement by North Antrim Jim Allister:
“I welcome belated recognition by the Education Minister that the only way forward was to accept teacher predicted grades. To all the parents and pupils who contacted their elected representatives over the last few days – your pressure paid off. The question was in essence always a simple one – do we trust teachers or not?
“The thousands of students who have gone through a very difficult week can belatedly breath a sigh of relief. The Executive and the Minister need to apologise for the distress and upset which has been caused.
“Moving forward, the operational fitness of CCEA needs to be examined.
“There is a need to lift the cap on local students admitted to Queen’s and Ulster University for this year. This will of course cost but will all the billions which have been spent fighting the pandemic we now need to invest some money in the future of our young people.
“I trust that there will be no more debate about the absolute necessity of getting the schools re-opened in the next few days. The closure of schools has resulted in a fiasco over exams and cast a shadow over the GCSE and A level pupils of 2020. Many children, across school years, have missed vital months of schooling. That simply cannot continue.”