The Conservatives have pledged to protect Turkish as a GCSE and A level subject if they win the next general election.
Nick de Bois (left) and Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary
The language had been scrapped by the OCR examination board in February because of “low demand” for the qualification.
But in a letter seen by Londra Gazete, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan tells exam board chief executives that she will “guarantee” the future of Turkish if the boards do not reinstate it themselves.
In the letter she writes: “I understand that in part your decision is in response to new Ofqual requirements on the structure of A-Levels. I am therefore calling on you to work with the regulator to secure the future of these qualifications and reverse your decision to cancel them.
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“I am making a clear commitment that the next Conservative Government will guarantee the future of GCSEs and A-levels in subjects like Polish, Gujarati, Panjabi, Bengali and Turkish.
“As such, if there is no further action from the exam boards and Ofqual on this matter, we intend to launch an immediate consultation, within the first month of a new Government, on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.”
The guarantee matches an earlier pledge by the Labour party, whose shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt promised at the beginning of this month to reverse the exam boards’ decision.
Ms Morgan’s move was hailed by Nick de Bois, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Enfield North, who secured a parliamentary debate on the issue late last month.
He said: “I first raised this issue in parliament on 24 March and it has taken only 28 days to secure the future of Turkish GCSE and A Level. This would not have been possible without the support of the Londra Gazete petition, the Turkish academic professionals and of course the public who supported this campaign.
“If I am re-elected at the forthcoming General Election on May 7th I will ensure that these commitments made by the Secretary of State for Education are swiftly enacted. I am very pleased that all our hard work and campaigning has paid off.”