Members of the Scottish Parliament will be asked to vote tomorrow on whether there should be “substantial reform” of two key education bodies - Scotland’s exam and inspection organisations - as part of the recovery plans amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are proposing that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the schools’ inspectorate and curriculum development body Education Scotland should be overhauled.
In an education debate tomorrow, the Lib Dems will argue that “serious concerns” have existed about the bodies for years and that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, they have “not met the expectations or requirements of hardworking teachers, pupils or parents”.
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The Lib Dems are therefore proposing that there should be “substantial reform” of both organisations, “with Education Scotland separated into independent inspection and policy functions and the SQA to be grounded in the teaching profession and made more accountable”.
Could there be changes for the SQA and Education Scotland?
The debate follows a call on Friday from the Scottish Greens for the SQA board to resign to make way for a fresh structure that would involve at least half of board members being registered teachers.
In a letter to education secretary John Swinney, the party’s education spokesperson, Ross Greer, said trust in the SQA was “all but non-existent”.
The SQA was at the centre of a storm last summer after the exam diet was cancelled due to the coronavirus and the estimated marks of thousands of students, submitted by their teachers, were downgraded by the body. The grades were eventually restored to the teacher estimates after a Scottish government climbdown.
Education Scotland, meanwhile, suspended inspections to take the pressure off schools during the pandemic, but the organisation has come under fire from some quarters for failing to support schools with the move to remote learning.
