DfE confirms popular BTECs amongst qualifications facing funding axe

More than 160 “duplicate qualifications” at level 3 and below will have their funding removed from August 2020 – including 76 BTECs, the education secretary confirmed today.

The government will also stop any new qualification at those levels from getting approval for funding from 2020.

It is part of a crack down on “poor quality post-16 qualifications”, and follows the first of a two-stage consultation to decide the future of over 12,000 vocational qualifications at level 3 and below.

The government wants to make A-levels, T-levels and apprenticeships the “gold standard” option for young people after they take their GCSEs from 2020.

It will only continue to fund alternative qualifications at level 3 and below – such as applied generals, BTECs and Tech Levels – that do not overlap with them and are “high quality, are necessary, have a clear purpose, and lead to good outcomes”.

Those that will have their funding withdrawn from August 2020 are “legacy” qualifications – which don’t feature any external assessment. They have all been replaced by new “more rigorous” versions which will continue to be funded by the Department for Education.

“I have previously said you cannot legislate for parity of esteem between technical and academic education – you’ve got to ensure high standards, then the esteem will come,” education secretary Damian Hinds said today.

“Our unrelenting focus on improving the quality of the qualifications available is key to this.

“The current system is confusing and complicated, with more than 12,000 qualifications available at level 3 and below. We are reviewing qualifications to boost the quality of the options out there so more students and parents will trust them.”

Some sector leaders have expressed concern that the level 3 and below review is manipulation of the market – something the skills minister Anne Milton has strongly denied.

The DfE said the response to its first consultation will be published alongside the launch of the second consultation later this year, which will set out more detailed proposals for change, including the criteria that will be used to determine whether a qualification will be approved for public funding.

Pearson, which awards BTECs, has been approached for comment about today’s announcement.