Another step to educational mediocrity?

On Sunday the Telegraph revealed details about the government's new diploma qualification in engineering. This counts for 3.5 A levels as, presumably, do other diplomas whose deficiencies are yet to become common knowledge.

The staggering thing is that the overall weighted result of the two parts of the examination is taken, so that a student could theoretically reveal little understanding of engineering in the written test, yet pass overall by a good project. Needless to say the project will be assessed internally by teachers, and no-one outside the situation will know how much of the work for the project was done by the student unaided.

So we have a situation where a student could obtain a university place on the basis of the shakiest understanding of the principles of engineering.

The game was given away by documents from Ofqual which from trials had to admit that if students were required to obtain a pass mark in both of the parts of the diploma, there would be a failure rate of 80%. This, then, shows the ultimate dumbing down and a qualification which universities will surely be very wary of accepting in student's own interests.

Add to this that many of the different "subjects" available as diplomas are multi-discipline, - construction, media, health and information technology. This must mean that although there is a challenge of breadth of subject the depth will be lacking.

I fear for the future of this country in a competitive world where our students encounter young people who have studied subjects in depth.