Schools minister Nick Gibb refused to do a times table test on live television this morning as he announced a policy for tougher multiplication tests for primary school children.
Mr Gibb appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to promote the policy and was put on the spot by host Jeremy Kyle who asked him the answer to ‘eight times nine’.
But he declined to join in, answering: ‘I’m not going to get into this live, I’ve learnt through bitter experience not to answer these questions.’
Nick Gibb appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to promote the policy and was put on the spot by host Jeremy Kyle who asked him the answer to ‘eight times nine’
The exchange hotted up as Kyle shouted: ‘Nine times eight is the times table, I’m not asking how you change the world.’
When Kate Garraway asked why young children should have to do something he was not comfortable with himself, Mr Gibb hit back: ‘No eight or nine-year-old would be doing it on live television.’
The minister refused to answer questions on his times tables again during an appearance on Sky News.
Viewers took to Twitter to comment on the exchange, with Shray Parekh writing: ‘Nick Gibb was doing semi-ok until he refused to answer the simple times table questions that he’s asking 8 year olds to memorize and be tested on.
‘The pressure of doing that on live TV is equivalent to the pressure 8 year olds would feel in class!!’
Graham Accountants said: ‘Cannot believe the government minister Nick Gibb refused to do simple test. Absolute disgrace.’
But he declined to join in, telling the hosts: ‘I’m not going to get into this live, I’ve learnt through bitter experience not to answer these questions’
Viewers took to Twitter to comment on the exchange, with Shray Parekh writing: ‘Nick Gibb was doing semi-ok until he refused to answer the simple times table questions that he’s asking 8 year olds to memorize and be tested on’
Another viewer, Paul Donno, said: ‘Interesting on GMB this morning interviewing education minister Nick Gibb MP who couldn’t answer a simple maths question 8 x 9 expects young people to do it!
‘His answer they are not answering on live TV. They are also not education minister putting maths tests in the curriculum.’
But someone else said: ‘You’re trivialising an important issue. #GMB doesn’t have to dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator.’
Ministers confirmed plans to bring in the multiplication check – which will be taken by eight and nine-year-olds in England – last autumn, following a review of primary school assessment.
The Department for Education (DfE) has now said it will trial the test this spring, ahead of a full roll-out over the next two years.
When Kate Garraway asked why children should have to do something he was not comfortable with himself, Mr Gibb hit back: ‘No eight or nine-year-old would be doing it on live television’
While supporters have argued that the check will help to ensure that all children know their tables up to 12 off by heart, the move has been controversial, with opponents, including some teaching unions, raising concerns about the educational benefits.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) described the move as ‘hugely disappointing’.
It is understood that around 290 primaries in England, around 7,250 pupils, are expected to take part in the trials.
Two trials have already taken place.
Schools across the country can take part in the multiplication check voluntarily in June next year, and it will be compulsory from 2020.
The test will last a maximum of five minutes and allow teachers to monitor a child’s progress, the DfE said.
Ministers confirmed plans to bring in the multiplication check – which will be taken by eight and nine-year-olds in England – last autumn. File photo
School standards minister Nick Gibb said: ‘Just as the phonics screening check helps children who are learning to read, the multiplication tables check will help teachers identify those pupils who require extra support.
‘This will ensure that all pupils leave primary school knowing their times tables off by heart and able to start secondary school with a secure grasp of the fundamental mathematics they need to fulfil their potential.’
The moved faced criticism from the head teacher’s union NAHT, however.
Nick Brook, the union’s deputy general secretary, said the tests ‘won’t tell teachers and parents anything they don’t already know about their children’.
‘We’re working constructively with the Government on primary assessment generally so it’s hugely disappointing that they are still intent on the introduction of a multiplication tables test, which NAHT opposes,’ he said.
‘Although school results won’t be published, this Government test will be scrutinised by Ofsted when they visit and therefore become even more significant.
‘A pupil’s primary school years are already cluttered with tests and checks. We all want children to succeed at school, but the answer isn’t to test them more.’