Alliance Education spokesperson Chris Lyttle MLA has said a two-week postponement of transfer tests will not make up for several months of missed learning in classrooms.

Mr Lyttle was speaking after AQE announced their tests will be held on November 21, 28 and December 12, while the PPTC tests will be on December 5.

“A two-week delay on these tests will not make up for the several months pupils are absent from school. There are serious concerns about how pupils of all ages will make up for lost time due to this crisis and this has not resolved those worries,” he said.

“The Education Minister has claimed this will provide clarity for parents and pupils. That is not the case and an already uneven playing field has been made even more unfair thanks to this pandemic, with pupils having different capacity to learn and prepare in terms of internet and computer resources, online tutoring access and parent/guardian availability.

“This is surely the time to find a different way to transfer pupils from primary to post-primary, so we can leave the unfair and unnecessary transfer tests in the past where they belong.”