SCOTLAND'S national qualifications and education bodies are "not fit for purpose" and must be reformed, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said.
Beatrice Wishart, the party's education spokeswoman, said she the Scottish Government had a "rare opportunity" to reform both the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)and Education Scotland, arguing the bodies were no longer suitable.
In an announcement today, Ms Wishart said her party was intent on securing the will of the parliament, and gaining a commitment from the Education Secretary to remodel the two bodies.
READ MORE: John Swinney warned over SQA results 'disaster'
She plans to lodge an amendment during an education debate in an attempt to secure the backing of other MSPs for the proposals.
It comes after former education secretary John Swinney came under fire over the exams fiasco last year, with warnings that pupils could face worse problems this year due to the way their grades are being assessed.
Despite exams at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level being cancelled due to the pandemic and school closures, teachers will be able to assess pupils to determine what grades they should receive.
To do this, they have been provided with question papers from the SQA which can be used to form part of their judgement.
Critics argued that the current arrangement is focused excessively on high-pressure, exam-style tests, even though pupils have been hit by extended school closures.
Lib Dem MSP Ms Wishart said the new education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville must now take action.
She said: "The new Education Secretary has a rare opportunity to take forward reforms that have the backing of teachers, pupils, parents and the Scottish Parliament.
“John Swinney refused to listen and as a result lost their trust as well as any sense of how to get things back on track.
“The SQA and Education Scotland are simply not fit for purpose. Their shortcomings should have been addressed long ago. The exams fiascos could have been avoided. But the Green party’s instinct to save the government at every opportunity meant these failing institutions were bailed out over and over again.
“The SQA and Education Scotland must be reformed for the recovery. Teachers should be able to set the direction of the organisations.
"That's how to protect against repeats of the exams chaos that pupils and teachers have endured. I hope the new Education Secretary will recognise the benefits of these proposals this week."
READ MORE: Pupils warned against sharing assessments on social media
Last week the Scottish Greens questioned whether, and how, the SQA would be able to cope with the volume of appeals expected as a result of the teacher assessments, and have previously said the body had lost the confidence of Parliament.
Ross Greer, the party's education spokesman, was speaking after the SQA missed its own deadline to publish the process by which students could appeal their given grades.
He said: "Thousands of pupils are more than half way through their timetable of pseudo-exams, without any idea of the evidence required to lodge an appeal. There will now be very little time left to produce this evidence before the end of term.
Ms Somerville told MSPs last Wednesday that she would make an announcement this week on the appeals process, saying:"The focus of schools and colleges at present is on ensuring that all of our learners get the right and fair result first time.
"Nonetheless, I appreciate that every approach must allow for appeals and we must ensure that we get this right and deliver a fair and credible process for that too."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The National Qualifications 2021 Group, which includes representation from teachers, parents and young people, developed this year’s Alternative Certification Model. They have been clear that the model has the flexibility to ensure that, as far as possible, there is maximum opportunity for learners to undertake the required learning and be given the best chance to succeed in their course assessments.
“We asked the SQA to review their appeals system from 2021 to ensure it best meets the needs of young people. They carried out a public consultation, and a response to that is expected to be set out soon.”
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