Carwyn and Kirsty at odds over Pisa test targets
FAULT lines have emerged today between the First Minister and Liberal Democrat Education Secretary Kirsty Williams over a key Welsh Government target to improve Wales’ scores in the international Pisa assessment.
After concerns about low achievement by Welsh teenagers in previous tests, the previous Labour Minister for Education, Huw Lewis, set a target of 500 points for each subject – Science, English and Maths – in the 2021 Pisa round.
This target was seemingly dismissed by Ms Williams when questioned by a committee last week when she told AMs: “It’s not my target.”
But during First Minister’s Questions, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies sought clarification from Carwyn Jones over what in fact the Welsh Government’s target for Pisa now was.
Publicly contradicting his Education Secretary – sat only yards away – Mr Jones told Mr Davies that the key 500 target remained a priority for the Welsh Government.
Baffled by the response, Mr Davies asked: “Who’s taking responsibility for education in Wales?”
Speaking outside the Assembly Chamber, Mr Davies said: “What we’ve learned today is that there exists clear disagreement between the First Minister and his Education Secretary over how the Welsh Government should prioritise education in Wales.
“It’s evident that Kirsty Williams had acted outside her authority when she disassociated herself from the Labour administration’s Pisa target.
“Having very publicly been undermined by the First Minister, one has to question whether Kirsty Williams’ role in the Welsh Government Cabinet is still tenable.”