A CONTROVERSIAL qualification which has no external exam should be scrapped after a slump in the number of pupils sitting it, a union chief has said.

Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA), said National 4 had “reached the end of the road”.

New figures from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) show an 11 per cent decline in interest since 2015 with entries dropping from more than 130,000 to just over 116,000 this year.

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However, The Education Institute of Scotland (EIS) argued the decline was because teachers were no longer entering pupils for both National 4 and the more advanced National 5 as Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) qualifications bedded in.

The call for change came as more than 136,000 pupils across the country received their exam results for Nationals, Highers, Advanced Highers and Scottish Baccalaureates.

Although there was a slight decline in some pass rates all are broadly similar to previous years.

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The number of passes at Higher level was 150,010, the third year in a row it has topped 150,000.

Figures from university admissions body Ucas also showed record numbers of Scots securing a place at university.

There has also been an improvement in the percentage of Scots from the poorest backgrounds getting to higher education.

When National 4s were introduced in 2014 as part of the scrapping of Standard Grade the SQA said they would be seen as the equal of other qualifications.

However, teachers and parents have warned the qualification had led to groups of pupils viewing themselves as “second class citizens” because there is no exam.

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Mr Searson said: “These entry rates are proof of how parents and teachers are viewing National 4.

“The worry for us is that if parents and pupils don’t value it then employers will not value it either.

“My view is that National 4 has come to the end of the road because without an exam there are questions over whether it is a valid qualification.”

Mr Searson said National 4 could be scrapped and National 5 courses re-written to accommodate a wider range of abilities.

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Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT union, also criticised National 4.

She said: “The fall in presentations reflects our long-standing concerns about its credibility.”

However, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, said the decline was a natural consequence of pupils being put forward for the right qualifications.

He said: “What is happening is that the system is reducing the dual presentations that blighted the first year when pupils were being put in for National 4 and National 5.

“Schools are now more comfortable with bypassing National 4 for those candidates more suited to National 5 and that is good.”

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A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Many schools now design the curriculum to enable students to build a range of qualifications.

“This approach broadens educational opportunities and ensures student finish school with a portfolio of achievement suited to their needs.

“More generally, a contributing factor is the continuing fall in the size of the school year-groups involved.”

The design of National 4 qualifications is currently being reviewed by the SQA.