Following the discovery of a number of mistakes in the exam papers of 2011, Ofqual are to be given the authority to issue fines to exam boards in England. Approximately 12 errors were spotted on the papers at A level and GCSE level this year, which has resulted in the announcement from the Department of Education.
According to Nick Gibb, school minister it is ‘unacceptably poor practice’ for any exam papers to have errors, as this lets down pupils who have studied consistently. He went on to say that pupils should not have to spend years studying and working hard towards gaining their GCSE and A level qualifications, only to be failed by mistakes made by the exam boards.
Ofqual will be given powers to ensure that exam boards adhere to the extremely high standards that students and their parents anticipate. Presently, Ofqual have the ability to stop an exam board from setting papers, but the government are looking at legislation to allow an exam board to be fined. Depending on the nature of the error, the exam boards can be fined up to 10 percent of their turnover, which will contribute to the public funds.
An Ofqual spokesperson said:
“We will ensure that these powers are used proportionately, and will carry out a consultation into when and how the powers to fine will be used.”
A business website won’t be fined for errors, but will suffer monetary loss if numerous grammatical and spelling mistakes are discovered on the site, as potential customers will view errors as unprofessional. A professional writer will ensure that all copy is free of errors and unique, providing a high quality, professional website.
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