139.Sections 96 to 103 provide for the approval of external qualifications by the Secretary of State for public funding purposes. An external qualification is a qualification externally awarded or authenticated. (These provisions do not cover courses which lead to more informal certificates or provision which is not certificated in any way - the funding for which will be for the LSC and CETW to determine, together with the DfEE and the National Assembly.) The approvals mechanism and the criteria for approval will be secured administratively by the Secretary of State and the National Assembly or by a body designated by him or it for this purpose - such as the LSC and CETW. Approval can be granted for a particular qualification or particular classes of qualification.
140.Section 96provides for the approval of external qualifications for those under the age of 19. The effect will be that where a course leads to an external qualification, relevant institutions can only offer programmes of study relating to, and public funding can only be used for, approved qualifications. This will ensure, for example, that the requirements of the National Curriculum are met. Section 96 replaces sections 400 and 401 of the Education Act 1996 which deal respectively with compulsory school age pupils and those over compulsory school age but under 19. Section 96 also replaces their intended successor provision, section 37(1) of the Education Act 1997 as it would have related to these age groups. Neither section 401 nor section 37(1) have ever been brought into force. As under section 400 of the Education Act 1996, section 96, 101 and 102 allow LEAs and governing bodies to be required to comply.
141.Section 97 provides for the approval of qualifications for those aged 19 or over. To ensure that the LSC, CETW and other providers can exercise their discretion and make the wider range of provision which is more appropriate to adult learning, this measure does not take the same approach as section 96. Instead, it places a requirement on the LSC, CETW and LEAs to ensure that public funding is only used to make payments for fees and charges in respect of external qualifications which are approved. The requirement for compliance can be enforced, under section 101(1)(c) and 102(2)(c), in respect of LEAs. Section 97 replaces paragraph (a) of Schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and its intended successor provision at section 37(1) of the Education Act 1997.
142.The provision for approval of qualifications, and sections 96(4) and 97(3) in particular allow for the development in due course of:
	for all age groups, group awards which recognise achievement in several qualifications or a combination of qualifications and other activity;
	for those aged 19 or over, a unitised system of external qualifications (in which qualifications are broken down into small discrete blocks each of which is certificated).
143.Section 103 gives the QCA power to develop tests, prescribed in regulations, aimed at those beyond compulsory school age and extends its powers to include both the setting and administering of tests for these students. The powers will apply whether these are tests in their own right or whether they form part of qualifications offered by awarding bodies. The equivalent body in Wales, ACCAC, will have its powers similarly extended. The section has been introduced to allow, for example, the possibility of the QCA or ACCAC developing and administering the new National Literacy and Numeracy Tests for adults (a recommendation in Improving literacy and numeracy - a fresh start, the report of the working group chaired by Sir Claus Moser, February 1999).
Commentary on Sections Part V - Miscellaneous and General Sections 96 to 103: external qualifications