English: As I often say in this Chamber, universities are autonomous institutions, and that is a matter for them, and not a matter for me. But, as I said, the Welsh bac gives students a competitive advantage in being able to clearly demonstrate these skills, and I know that this point will be reinforced at the joint Seren-Oxford event that will be held at the Norwegian church this evening. Now, just today, Deputy Presiding Officer, I have been provided with a list of selected offers from universities that the WJEC has received that included the skills challenge certificate. There are over 650 courses here, whether that's medicine at Cardiff, physics at Exeter, computer science at Edinburgh, law at Birmingham, and, just to refute the points that Michelle Brown made, which said that it is not accepted in offers for medicine, within that list there are students holding offers that include their skills challenge certificate to read medicine at Exeter, at Cardiff, at Leicester, at Manchester, at Nottingham and at Plymouth. Now, I am more than happy for my officials to brief Michelle Brown, and perhaps, when she is considering the way in which she spoke to our colleague Huw Irranca-Davies, she could reflect on her comments about the nature of the qualifications and the efforts that teachers and students have put into achieving them. Now, moving forward, the Welsh Government, Qualifications Wales and the WJEC will continue to work with UCAS and other stakeholders to ensure that information about how universities treat the bac in their offers is systematically collated and updated, and, crucially, is made available to learners, to their parents, to their guardians, and to schools and colleges. It's important to note that the committee's review of the Welsh bac started only a few months after Qualifications Wales published its own review of the skills challenge certificate in April 2018. Now, one of the main findings of the independent review was that the design of the certificate is more complex than it needs to be. Consequently, Qualifications Wales has established a design group and practitioner group to take forward the recommendations of the review, including the manageability of the qualification and the potential impact on learners' mental health and well-being. We will also continue to work with Qualifications Wales, the WJEC, regional consortia for schools and our FE colleges whilst the work to revise the certificate moves forward, ensuring that we are providing the support for any emerging resources, training or implications that could arise from any further changes.
Welsh: Fel rwy'n dweud yn aml yn y Siambr hon, mae prifysgolion yn sefydliadau annibynnol, a mater iddynt hwy yw hynny, nid i mi. Ond fel y dywedais, mae bagloriaeth Cymru yn rhoi mantais gystadleuol i fyfyrwyr o ran gallu dangos y sgiliau hyn yn glir, a gwn y bydd y pwynt hwn yn cael ei atgyfnerthu yn y digwyddiad Seren-Rhydychen ar y cyd a gynhelir yn yr Eglwys Norwyaidd heno. Nawr, heddiw ddiwethaf, Ddirprwy Lywydd, cefais restr o gynigion dethol gan brifysgolion y mae CBAC wedi'u cael sy'n cynnwys y dystysgrif her sgiliau. Mae dros 650 o gyrsiau yma, boed yn feddygaeth yng Nghaerdydd, ffiseg yng Nghaerwysg, cyfrifiadureg yng Nghaeredin, y gyfraith yn Birmingham, ac i wrthbrofi'r pwyntiau a wnaeth Michelle Brown, a ddywedodd nad yw'n cael ei dderbyn mewn cynigion ar gyfer meddygaeth, o fewn y rhestr honno ceir myfyrwyr sydd wedi cael cynigion sy'n cynnwys eu tystysgrif her sgiliau i astudio meddygaeth yng Nghaerwysg, yng Nghaerdydd, yng Nghaerlŷr, ym Manceinion, yn Nottingham ac yn Plymouth. Nawr, rwy'n fwy na bodlon i fy swyddogion friffio Michelle Brown, ac efallai, pan fydd yn ystyried y ffordd y siaradodd â'n cyd-Aelod Huw Irranca-Davies, y gallai ystyried ei sylwadau am natur y cymwysterau a'r ymdrechion ar ran athrawon a myfyrwyr i'w cyflawni. Nawr, gan symud ymlaen, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru, Cymwysterau Cymru a CBAC yn parhau i weithio gydag UCAS a rhanddeiliaid eraill i sicrhau bod gwybodaeth ynglŷn â sut y mae prifysgolion yn trin y fagloriaeth yn eu cynigion yn cael ei choladu a'i diweddaru'n systematig, a'i bod ar gael, yn hollbwysig, i ddysgwyr, eu rhieni, eu gwarcheidwaid, ac i ysgolion a cholegau. Mae'n bwysig nodi mai dim ond ychydig fisoedd wedi i Cymwysterau Cymru gyhoeddi ei adolygiad ei hun o'r dystysgrif her sgiliau ym mis Ebrill 2018 y dechreuodd adolygiad y pwyllgor o fagloriaeth Cymru. Nawr, un o brif ganfyddiadau'r adolygiad annibynnol oedd bod cynllun y dystysgrif yn fwy cymhleth nag sydd angen iddo fod. O ganlyniad, mae Cymwysterau Cymru wedi sefydlu grŵp cynllunio a grŵp addysgwyr i ddatblygu argymhellion yr adolygiad, gan gynnwys gallu i reoli'r cymhwyster a'r effaith bosibl ar iechyd meddwl a lles dysgwyr. Byddwn hefyd yn parhau i weithio gyda Cymwysterau Cymru, CBAC, consortia rhanbarthol ar gyfer ysgolion a'n colegau addysg bellach tra bydd y gwaith o adolygu'r dystysgrif yn symud ymlaen, gan sicrhau ein bod yn darparu'r cymorth ar gyfer unrhyw adnoddau, hyfforddiant neu oblygiadau a allai godi o unrhyw newidiadau pellach.