Former education ministers write to Secretary of State following analysis that most BTECs will be scrapped

Six members of the House of Lords, including four former education ministers, have written to Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan following the publication of analysis that most applied general qualifications such as BTECs will be scrapped.

Their letter is signed by former education secretaries David Blunkett and Ken Baker, former education ministers David Willetts and Jo Johnson, deputy speaker of the House of Lords Sue Garden, and Labour peer Mike Watson.

The signatories express their “disappointment” that a commitment made to Peers in April 2022 – by the then Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi and current education minister Baroness Barran – to only remove a “small proportion” of BTECs through the Department for Education’s review of qualifications “does not appear to have been met”.

This follows analysis by the Protect Student Choice campaign of government guidance published in January 2023. The guidance includes a list of subjects that DfE will fund in the future. Qualifications in subjects that do not feature on this list are ineligible for approval and will therefore be scrapped.

The Peers write that:

“When the Protect Student Choice campaign mapped this list against the 134 applied general qualifications that are currently available to young people, it found that just 59 are eligible to begin the qualification approval process. That means 75 will not be funded from 2025 as they have been deemed ineligible for approval.”

They express concern that this is “far more than a small proportion of applied general qualifications” and that “this does not align with the assurances that were made to us in April 2022, but more importantly, this does not align with the future needs of students, employers, the economy and our public services.”

The peers identify Extended Diplomas in Applied Science, Information Technology, and Business as examples of qualifications that are set to be axed but “play a vital role in developing the skilled workforce of the future and provide a well-established pathway to higher education” and write that  “…it is difficult to think of a worse time to scrap the Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care” given its importance to the healthcare workforce and the NHS.

The letter concludes with a plea to remove all 134 applied general qualifications from the scope of the government’s review in order to “retain a vital pathway to higher education and employment for tens of thousands of young people”.

Commenting on the letter

David Blunkett, Labour Peer and former Secretary of State for Education said:

“At this moment in time, every high-quality route to employment and filling the vast vacancies which exist in the economy should be encouraged rather than abolished, and clear commitments given in parliament should be honoured. The analysis by the Protect Student Choice campaign suggests that over half of applied general qualifications will be scrapped from 2025. This is a clear reversal of the undertakings given last year, both in writing to all Members of the Lords, and from the despatch box, that only a “small proportion” would be removed. I am very pleased that a range of Peers from all parties in the Lords have agreed to take this matter up with the Secretary of State, Gillian Keegan, and I feel sure that she will want to demonstrate her honesty and integrity and act accordingly. Scrapping these qualifications would be damaging for the economy – we must listen to what business is saying and ensure there is real choice in qualifications and damaging for students – the critical issue here is that thousands of young people will be denied the most appropriate route to a qualification and the foothold on lifelong learning.”

Bill Watkin, Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association that is co-ordinating the Protect Student Choice – don’t scrap BTECs campaign, said:

“Our analysis shows that the government has reneged on its commitment to only remove a “small proportion” of applied general qualifications such as BTECs. Ministers have drawn up a list of subjects they are prepared to fund in the future, and all BTEC qualifications in subjects that do not appear on that list will be scrapped. As a result, more than half of all applied general qualifications will disappear, and we estimate that 62% of BTEC students in the sixth form college sector are currently studying qualifications that will no longer be available from 2025. This is utterly unacceptable. Lord Blunkett and his colleagues in the Lords have been very supportive of the Protect Student Choice campaign, and we are very pleased that they have written such a powerful letter to the Secretary of State. Unless the government reverses this decision, and starts to incorporate some evidence and transparency into its policymaking, tens of thousands of students will be left without a pathway to higher education or employment, and many employers will be left without the skilled workforce they need”.