The education secretary has been attacked for failing to truly embrace the reform of Scotland’s education system after confirming a key agency’s responsibilities will barely change.
Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs the replacement for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which she pledged to scrap, would retain its regulatory and accreditation responsibilities.
This goes against the recommendation by Professor Ken Muir in his wide-ranging report into the reform of Scottish education to separate the two functions and create a new body responsible for the awarding of exam results.
The education secretary said there were “significant benefits” to including the two functions in the new qualifications body due to be set up alongside a new national agency.
