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British Students Take a Stand for Their Right to Education Government Forced to Back Down from Anti-Human Algorithm to Assign Final Grades
On the release of the results, British students immediately took to the streets across Britain to defend both their own future and the character and values of a modern education system, with the full backing of teachers and education workers and their unions, with the result that the government was forced to reverse its stand on August 17 and agree that grades would be reissued based on teachers' assessments. Workers' Weekly indicates that "This is a victory for the angered students, but it also exposes the problems at the heart of the education system which the pandemic has revealed starkly. It has underlined how the right to an education must be fought for.
"In fact, the battle continues, since in the time between the downgraded results of the Ofqual algorithm being announced and the government backing down, students have been making other arrangements to secure places at universities that were not their first choice. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on August 17 confirmed that a cap on the number of students who can be accepted by universities would be lifted, but universities require the funding to take extra students. In addition, the government, and the Education Secretary in particular, refuse to be held accountable for the fiasco, which has demonstrated the disregard of those in authority for the future of the lives of young people as well as the attempt to negate the human factor. The demand now is that university places be found for all students who need them." The government's actions in grading A-level students is just the latest example of its anti-social approach to education, especially during the pandemic, that eliminates the human factor, namely the role of teachers, as well as to undermine the right of the youth to an education. As Workers' Weekly points out, "As with every issue during this pandemic, in particular the issue of the safe opening of schools, the necessity for those concerned to be involved in the decision-making process, and indeed their right to be involved, has been ignored or negated. And as with the issue of the safe opening of schools and the implementation of online learning, for example, the right for teachers, lecturers, students and others affected by what is decided to be involved, together with the procedure for deciding which students go on to university or further education, has raised the question of the character of education itself, and the participation of the students themselves in working this out. Workers' Weekly concludes
that "The issue has also raised the question of how education should be
funded, in particular the funding for higher and further education.
There is a necessity for a turning point in the financing of education.
The whole issue of the character, values and funding of further and
higher education shows the need for a public discussion on how to solve
the issues. For some time, with the increase of the anti-social
offensive, all sectors of an all-round education required to
prepare the coming generation to take up its responsibility for
society, have been under attack, especially the humanities. In
addition, the imposition of fees, with students being saddled with a
life-time of debt, is being challenged. It is particularly galling for
the disadvantaged who, with working people as a whole, have been
treated with contempt by the ruling elite." (Photos: Workers' Weekly)
This article was published in   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
Students in
Britain are in action to oppose the Ministry of
Education and the Office of Qualifications and
Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) for the use of
an algorithm to grade graduating Advanced Level
(A-level) students and over-riding the
teacher-assessed grades, in the absence of final
examinations due to the pandemic. The algorithm
produced results, released August 13, in which
40 per cent of students' grades were below the
predicted results as assessed by their teachers
-- some students being marked down two to three
grades -- with the consequence that many lost
their place at university for the coming year.
The algorithm is also said to have failed some
students altogether if their school had poor
results in the past. Making matters worse, the
algorithm had a more pronounced impact on
students who had smaller class sizes, giving an
advantage to those in private schools.
Extraordinarily, over 21,000 students got
awarded a U grade, which is usually given to
students who do not turn up to the exam or write
anything in the exam. It had been reported that
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had been
warned six weeks earlier by Sir Jon Coles, a
former director-general for standards at the
Department of Education, that the algorithm
would only have an accuracy of 75 per cent;
Ofqual's own assessment was that its results
were only 60 per cent accurate.
"The government
had thought that it could ride roughshod over
the right to higher education of A-Level
students because of the conditions of the
pandemic. The students have demonstrated that
the pandemic cannot be used as a justification
to play fast and loose with the lives of young
people.