Professor AlisonWolf, who authored a government-commissioned review of vocational courses published earlier this year, said schools had been "under enormous pressure to pile up league table points".
AlisonWolf, professor of management at King's College, University of London, warns that vocational education should not be viewed as a way of engaging students turned off by school.
Professor AlisonWolf, author of the government's review into vocational education, said the only sensible approach is to get a "broad-based education" equipped with skills and qualifications that employers recognize.