Michael Gove has defended his policy of cutting vocational qualifications from official school league tables in a question and answer session, delivered to MPs on the Commons Education Select Committee.

New plans announced by Government will see subjects like customer service and nail technology lose their GCSE level status as part of reforms designed to raise school standards by disincentivising teachers from encouraging pupils to take these qualifications, The Telegraph reports.

"I think it's important that children up to the age of 16 are introduced to a wide range of options that will help motivate and excite them. That will include various different design and technology courses," said Mr Gove. "It is important to make sure that we do not limit children's choices and that means not arbitrarily saying that they should pursue courses that limit their capacity to progress afterwards."

The cut in vocational qualifications will see the number of subjects fall from 3,175 to 125.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of NASUWT teaching union commented: "All young people should be entitled to be able to access high quality vocational provision, but this is not what today's announcement is about. The Government's intention is to privilege the academic over the vocational courses and to remove any notion of parity of esteem, in pursuit of its elitist approach to educational provision."

She added: "Thousands of young people who have worked hard for their qualifications are now having their worth publicly questioned. When faced with spiralling youth unemployment, this announcement is the last thing they need to hear."

5,000 question suggestions were sent to the Select Committee in advance, using #AskGove over Twitter.

Mr Gove addressed the issue of turning state comprehensive schools into academies and labelled campaigners against turning a Downhills Primary School in North London into an academy as "Trots".

Campaigners at the school, including Governors, have argued that they should not be forced to adopt academy status.

Regarding this issue, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) commented: "Michael Gove is using every trick in the book to force schools into academy status regardless of the wishes of the local community. This has nothing to do with standards, as anyone who looked at the recent Ofsted reports of the school would accept, but has everything to do with an Education Secretary determined to end the role of democratically elected local authorities in education and fragment and privatise our school system."

 Chris Keates added: "It is unacceptable for the genuine concerns of parents, local communities and the workforce to be dismissed and derided in this way."

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To read more on recent Government reforms, try these links:

• Michael Gove calls for longer school days and shorter holidays
• Teaching 'underperformance' questioned by Government
• Headteacher qualification no longer compulsory