HOLYROOD has backed Scottish government plans to abolish Scotland’s exam body, but opposition parties have warned that the legislation will leave the “job unfinished.”

The move marks the final chapter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, which has struggled to recover from the 2020 exams scandal.

The authority was forced to rely on coursework and predicted grades during the Covid-19 pandemic, but there was an outcry when it emerged that the marks of 124,000 had not only been downgraded but that pupils in Scotland’s poorest postcode areas had had their grade lowered by 15.2 per cent on average, compared to 6.9 per cent for those in the wealthiest areas.

Scottish Labour and Tories both opposed the Bill, with Labour education spokeswoman Pam Duncan-Glancy saying: “We needed a qualifications system fit for the future — one that respects the efforts of learners, supports the judgement of teachers and earns the trust of employers and universities.

“But on reform, this is a job unfinished.”

SNP Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, however, argued that the Bill, which will also establish a new chief inspector of education, would provide “the scaffolding which supports the wider range of education reform.”

She 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 the knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers are at the heart of our national qualifications offering.

“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.”