Government brands Andy Burnham’s new non-university route ‘unequal’ and ‘narrow’

Photo: Local Democracy Reporting Service

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham sets out plans for the Manchester Baccalaureate

The government has criticised Andy Burnham’s plans for a new qualification aimed at the two-thirds of teenagers in Greater Manchester who don’t go to university.

The Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) would offer a different core set of GCSEs that lean more towards technical subjects than the current English Baccalaureate (EBacc) system for students who want careers in the creative and digitial sectors, as well as health, social care and construction jobs.
 

Read more: The new route for the two-thirds of young people who don’t go to universityPublished: 22 May 2023

English and maths would still be a requirement of the MBacc – as it is within the EBacc – but so would computer science or ICT. Other options would include engineering, art, drama and music, and the sciences.

This more flexible qualification could then lead to apprenticeships, T-Levels or even a degree with costs covered by employers, Mr Burnham has argued. The Greater Manchester mayor hopes this would help offer a ‘clear path in life’ for all young people in the city-region while filling skills gaps in the local economy.

However, the government has described the proposal – which already has the backing of some education bosses and business leaders – as ‘unequal’. In a statement to Mancunian Matters, the Department for Education (DfE) said the new alternative route would ‘narrow opportunities available to young people’.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Our reforms to post-16 qualifications are simplifying the system, providing a clearer choice of all the high-quality options available to young people including new T levels alongside A Levels, and creating a level playing field.

“Introducing a separate system or Manchester Baccalaureate would undermine this progress, create an unequal system and narrow the opportunities available to young people.”

The critical comments came after Mr Burnham set out how the MBacc would work at an event in Manchester last month. The Labour mayor wants to use new powers given to Greater Manchester under the ‘trailblazer’ devolution deal agreed with government earlier this year to make the proposal a reality.

He said Greater Manchester would work with DfE through a new joint board created as part of the deal in the hope that the MBacc would be offered at schools across the city-region by September 2024. Nevertheless, it would be up to individual schools to decide if they want to adopt this new approach.

A Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) spokesperson said: “Greater Manchester’s plans for the MBacc have been enthusiastically welcomed by businesses, colleges, students and parents. This is not about a separate system but a localised version of what the government wants to achieve, designed to make T Levels work in the real world.

“We look forward to working with the Department for Education to clear up any misunderstandings and bring about a reform that will be hugely beneficial to the two thirds of young people in Greater Manchester who are not going to Higher Education.”

Joseph Timan, Local Democracy Reporting Service