This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Parliament passes SQA Bill
02/05/2002
The Scottish Qulaifications Bill was passed in the
Scottish Parliament this afternoon.
Minister for Education and Young People Cathy Jamieson
said the agreement of the SQA Bill gives the exams body a
firm foundation for delivering successful exam rounds.
Among other things, the Bill:
- Introduces a smaller Board, including someone with
a particular knowledge of issues affecting employees,
focussed on the governance and strategic management of
the organisation;
- Will see the creation of a new Advisory Council,
keeping stakeholders at the heart of the SQA's decision
making;
- Ensure that Ministers will be able to maintain
close communications with the SQA in future.
Ms Jamieson said:
"Last year, thanks to the hard work and commitment of
many people, our exams system was successfully put back on
track. But we must be sure that every exams diet is a
successful diet - that the problems of Diet 2000 are never
revisited on our young people.
"In bringing forward this Bill, we have shown that we
have learned from the past. We were determined to put the
SQA on the best possible footing for the future, and I
believe we have achieved that.
"With the agreement of the Bill today, everyone with an
interest in Scottish education and training can be
confident that the SQA will continue to be successful."
The text of the final SQA Bill and original Policy
Memorandum, Explanatory Notes and Financial Memorandum are
available from the Scottish Parliament.
During the Stage 3 debate, the Parliament debates and
agrees the final form of the Bill, including amendments
brought forward for Stage 3 in light of issues raised by
the Education, Culture and Sport Committee at Stage 2.
The SQA Bill was introduced in Parliament on 31 January
2002. Stage 2 took place on 16 April 2002.
The Bill is part of a package of measures to ensure the
SQA's future success. These will include:
A new Management Statement and Financial Memorandum, to
clarify the SQA's role and responsibilities;
- The SQA have introduced improved corporate planning
processes;
- A range of performance indicators is being
introduced to allow accurate monitoring of the SQA's
delivery of key objectives.