BTec exams must be cancelled now urges UNISON

UNISON has accused the Westminster government of yet again making a last minute decision without thinking through the consequences on those who will be involved in delivering it. In warning of the dire consequences of how fast the virus is now spreading the Westminster government made the decision to close all colleges and sixth forms and move to online learning. But as an afterthought the DfE announced that BTec exams starting this week would still go ahead. This means that thousands of young people will be asked to go into halls with the invigilators, the admin staff and the learning support assistants acting as scribes and readers. This comes at a time when the country as a whole is being told that it is unsafe to gather in large numbers and to stay at home. UNISON believes this situation should never have been allowed to happen. England, like Wales and Scotland should have planned for exam disruption and prepared an adequate system before now. UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “The young people taking these exams are the ones who are most likely to catch and spread the virus. “The staff who are running these exams, many of whom fall into vulnerable categories and are more at risk, such as Black staff and older staff with underlying health conditions, will be exposed to unnecessary risk. “We’ve been speaking to staff in colleges who are desperately worried about the risks they are being told to take. “Whilst the DfE tells us that lots of COV...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article FE colleges higher education sixth form colleges Source Type: news