The Government will try and persuade the OCR examination board to change its mind over scrapping Turkish GCSEs and A levels.
Nick de Bois, the Enfield North MP, led the adjournment debate
Nick Gibb, the education minister, told MPs in parliament on Tuesday night that he believed the decision was a “commercial calculation” that ignored long-term economic and cultural factors.
“I will invite them to reconsider their current position,” he told MPs at the end of a debate led by Nick de Bois, the Enfield North MP. “In doing so, I will also question them closely about the financial rationale for their decisions.”
The meeting with OCR chief executive Mark Dawe is expected to take place at the Department for Education as early as today, Wednesday.
‘BAFFLING’ DECISION
It comes as a result of an adjournment debate on lesser taught foreign languages secured by Mr de Bois, prompted by Londra Gazete’s campaign to save Turkish GCSEs and A levels.
Using strong words to criticise the OCR, Mr de Bois said the decision “baffles me, not least because the number of candidates achieving A-level grades A to E is higher than that for courses the exam bodies are keeping, namely German and Spanish.”
He continued: “The decision by the OCR is further complicated—and difficult to understand and challenge—by the fact that on the grounds of commercial sensitivity it will not share the financial information it claims is driving this decision.”
The adjournment debate was held in the House of Commons on Tuesday night
Mr de Bois also paid tribute to Londra Gazete for championing the issue. An online petition calling on the government to reconsider its decision has attracted more than 1500 signatures in an online petition.
TURKISH SKILLS ESSENTIAL
Hundreds of people have left comments to the campaign, including Turkish Cypriot healthcare worker Mine Derviş, who wrote on the petition that she used “the knowledge gained through my Turkish GCSE throughout my career to facilitate patient care.”
“Turkish linguistic skills remain essential in a multi-cultural and diverse society like London,” she said.
