Pupils deserve clarity on next year’s exams

CHILDREN have endured unrelenting turmoil over the past 15 months – and the disruption is far from over.

The Education Secretary has raised the alarming possibility of exams chaos for the third year running.

There’s no guarantee that the exam diet will be back to normal in 2022 and ‘contingencies’ must be put in place.

In the midst of this uncertainty, ministers haven’t ruled out wholesale reform of the exam system. Meanwhile, quangos have failed on the job and face an overhaul.

Of course, it’s wise to have back-up plans as Covid is deeply unpredictable.

Attempting to provide state education during a public health emergency has been a challenge around the world, but parents, pupils and teachers need to be able to plan ahead as far as possible.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville must focus on providing at least some clarity ahead of the new school year starting in August.

Meanwhile, the requirement to self-isolate continues to cause logistical havoc in schools, with more than 16,000 pupils forced to stay at home last week.

Remote learning has improved since the early days of the first lockdown, but it’s still a lottery. Some pupils lack the equipment to take part and the quality of virtual lessons is highly variable.

Rapid roll-out of vaccines to children would help to reduce absences and get classroom learning back on track.

The pandemic has also exposed and exacerbated inequalities, widening the attainment gap that has dogged Scottish education for decades.

In some schools, pupils are pressing ahead with next year’s syllabus now that the shambolic assessments are over. But in others children will have to wait until after the summer to make a start on new coursework – another injustice that could have been avoided with better planning.

Ultimately, the only way to work towards the restoration of pre-Covid normality, or an approximation of it, is to make a success of the vaccine drive.

This week’s disturbing data on the hundreds of thousands of missed or cancelled jab appointments is a sobering reminder of what remains to be achieved.

Ensuring that those who haven’t been vaccinated are immunised as quickly as possible should be the number one priority of ministers and public health chiefs.

Only by redoubling efforts to increase uptake can we stand any chance of stabilising our schools, rebuilding the economy and regaining lost freedoms.