Dropping literacy requirements ‘dumbing down standards’

DROPPING the requirement for university students to demonstrate high levels of written spoken and English is “dumbing down standards”, a minister and West MP has said.

Universities Minister Michelle Donelan told MPs she is “appalled” at the move by the University of Hull to scrap the need for students to be able to meet literacy standards in assessments, and said the Government “will act” on the matter. It came as Conservative chairman of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, called the university’s decision “patronising and counterproductive”.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the University of Hull had asked professors not to dock marks for spelling mistakes as they believed requiring good English could be seen as “elite”.

The university said dropping the requirement for a high level of proficiency in written and spoken English in some subjects will “challenge the status quo”.

But raising concerns on the matter in the Commons, Mr Halfon said: “In 2018, just 12.3% of the most disadvantaged pupils in England were accepted into higher education institutions.

“I know that the minister’s passion, and mine, is to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds attend higher education. However, does the minister agree that the proposal by Hull University to drop the requirement for students to demonstrate a high level proficiency in written and spoken English is entirely the wrong way to go about this?”

Ms Donelan, the MP for Chippenham, replied: “I agree with (Mr Halfon). I am appalled by the decision of some universities to drop literacy standards in assessments.

“I think that this is misguided, and, in fact, it is dumbing down standards.”