In the UK, education has always been of paramount significance, on par with the National Health Service, or ensuring that MPs have enough income to survive.
Test results have not been as good as hoped for over recent years, with standards purported to be in decline for some time now. There have been several measures introduced and explanations offered to defend the alleged deterioration in quality of examinations.
Now it seems to be coming under scrutiny from the eagle-eyed government, who are eager to reverse the tendency. A spokesperson for the conservatives told the Rochdale Herald that; “social media and poor socialising skills” are to blame for current pupils’ lack of capacity to master the art of test-taking. The culture of creating an online persona, rather than honing real-life skills appears to be more alluring to the younger members of society.
The present Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening has expressed her “deep concern” for these findings. She went on to say that she “vows to amend the growing trend in young people to not talk good, use emojis and abbreviations and be unaware of how to act proper like in real social situations, innit.” This will come as a great comfort to teachers and parents alike, as they have someone they can rely upon to do the roles they are usually expected to do.
As language and the modern world evolve, certain matters require consideration, such as; if the world is changing, should exams change with it? If children are not achieving the expected level of socialisation by the time they are at exam age, who is responsible? One thing is apparent; that this government is planning an audacious bid to tear teens away from distractions and is more than happy to be accountable for their actions.
