Holyrood passes legislation to abolish SQA exams body
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is set to be scrapped and replaced by a new body called Qualifications Scotland.
The Education (Scotland) Bill was passed by 69 votes to 47 late on Wednesday evening, following two days of debate.
As well as abolishing the SQA, the bill also sets out plans for a new chief inspector of education, who will be tasked with inspecting nurseries, schools and colleges across Scotland.
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The bill states that Qualification Scotland will have to give equal weighting to both British Sign Language (BSL) and the Gaelic language.
It also outlines that the new body must consider the needs of pupils who use BSL or learn in BSL.
The new body is expected to be up and running in the autumn, after this year's exam results are released.
It comes almost five years after the 2020 exams scandal, where marks for more than 124,000 pupils were downgraded after exams had to be scrapped as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking as the legislation was passed, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the bill would "fundamentally create a new and a different type of organisation which works with the teaching profession differently".
Jenny Gilruth And speaking after the vote, Gilruth said: 'The successful passage of this legislation shows this Government is serious about implementing the changes needed to drive improvement across Scotland's education and skills system.
"The creation of a new national qualifications body is about building the right conditions for reform to flourish; the new body will ensure that knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers are at the heart of our national qualifications offering."
Gilruth added that the new chief inspector would have "greater independence and the power to set the frequency and focus of inspections".
'Throughout this process, I have been determined to work with other parties on this vital legislation. I am also grateful to teaching unions and other organisations across civic Scotland who contributed to its development," she continued.
'Taken together our major programme of education and skills reform will bring about the changes needed to meet the needs of future generations of young people."
The bill was backed by the Scottish Greens, who said that the new body "will put the voices of teachers and students at its heart".
The party's education spokesperson, Ross Greer, who has previously campaigned for an overhaul of the exams body, said he was pleased MSPs had voted for "this fresh start in Scottish education".
Ross Greer He said: "Senior leadership at the SQA was given the opportunity to change over many years, but refused to do so.
"Replacing the organisation with one legally required to listen to teachers and students will end this constant cycle of scandals.
"Now we can begin rebuilding the trust which was so completely destroyed over the last decade and put the focus back on supporting students."
But he added that such reform needed to be followed up with "urgent work" to reduce teachers' workload and an overhaul of the "Victorian-era" end of term exams system towards a model of ongoing assessment.
Greer also hit out at Scottish Labour, who voted down the bill on the basis it did not go far enough.
"Labour's vote to protect the scandal-plagued and unaccountable SQA is bizarre," he said.
'How can anyone look at the mistakes of recent years and think it can continue? We need real change for students and teachers, which this bill will deliver."
Both Labour and the Tories voted down the bill on Wednesday.
Pam Duncan-Glancy, Scottish Labour's education spokesperson, said: 'We needed a qualifications system fit for the future, one that respects the efforts of learners, supports the judgment of teachers, and earns the trust of employers and universities.
'We needed a curriculum that is broad and inclusive, we needed an inspectorate that can challenge where necessary but also celebrate excellence. But on reform this is a job unfinished.'
Meanwhile, Scottish Tory education spokesperson Miles Briggs said the new body was "little more than a rebrand of the SQA".
'The SQA needed an overhaul, not a cosmetic makeover, and the changes proposed fall way short of what is required to ensure the organisation can operate effectively and is properly accountable," he added.
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