Chamber
Plenary, 27 Jun 2001
27 Jun 2001 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
National Qualifications<br />(2001 Exam Diet)
In trying to calm our nerves, the minister has clearly taken today's prayer to heart. Thankfully, there will be no deep intakes of breath following the minister's statement.
I, too, pay tribute to teachers, the staff of the SQA, civil servants and, indeed, the minister for the effort that has been put into trying to bring about diet 2001 on time and to deliver accurate results. This year, the SQA clearly has gone to great lengths to ensure that better information is available to make management decisions, which has assisted in identifying problems where they existed. I have no doubt that those problems have been tackled. No one will be more relieved about that than the First Minister, who I am sure will praise the fact that the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs has intervened a great deal more than his predecessor did.
I have three questions to put to the minister. First, it is my understanding that the advice that the minister received previously was that the board of the SQA could be constituted of the current 11 members, that being the quorum that allowed it to proceed. It would be a great problem if that advice were wrong. I welcome the fact that the minister will propose new appointments, but will he reassure me that, if that was the quorum and the number of members, every meeting of the board has been fully attended? One would not wish there to be a successful legal challenge against the board.
Secondly, I welcome what the minister said about reducing teacher work load. Two options have been mentioned. Will the minister tell us whether options other than A and B will be considered?
Finally, a number of ministers have mentioned in passing that the SQA may be up for a further review of its structure and its relationship with the Scottish Executive. Is the minister able to give us any further details about its status as a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation? Will it become more directly involved with the Scottish Executive?
I, too, pay tribute to teachers, the staff of the SQA, civil servants and, indeed, the minister for the effort that has been put into trying to bring about diet 2001 on time and to deliver accurate results. This year, the SQA clearly has gone to great lengths to ensure that better information is available to make management decisions, which has assisted in identifying problems where they existed. I have no doubt that those problems have been tackled. No one will be more relieved about that than the First Minister, who I am sure will praise the fact that the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs has intervened a great deal more than his predecessor did.
I have three questions to put to the minister. First, it is my understanding that the advice that the minister received previously was that the board of the SQA could be constituted of the current 11 members, that being the quorum that allowed it to proceed. It would be a great problem if that advice were wrong. I welcome the fact that the minister will propose new appointments, but will he reassure me that, if that was the quorum and the number of members, every meeting of the board has been fully attended? One would not wish there to be a successful legal challenge against the board.
Secondly, I welcome what the minister said about reducing teacher work load. Two options have been mentioned. Will the minister tell us whether options other than A and B will be considered?
Finally, a number of ministers have mentioned in passing that the SQA may be up for a further review of its structure and its relationship with the Scottish Executive. Is the minister able to give us any further details about its status as a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation? Will it become more directly involved with the Scottish Executive?
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
Our next item of business is a statement by Mr Jack McConnell, on national qualifications and the 2001 exam diet. As usual, there will be questions at the en...
The Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs (Mr Jack McConnell):
Lab
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Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
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Mr McConnell:
Lab
It is appropriate for any long-term review to include on-going monitoring of the implementation of the new qualifications and the role of the Scottish Qualif...
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
In trying to calm our nerves, the minister has clearly taken today's prayer to heart. Thankfully, there will be no deep intakes of breath following the minis...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
The review that I referred to has been under way for some months. It is not a new review; it was referred to by the Minister for Finance and Local Government...
Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
I welcome the minister's statement, which seems practical and contains lots of positive news. I thank everyone involved in the work that has gone into prepar...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
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The Presiding Officer:
NPA
Seven members would like to be called and we have just under seven minutes, so exchanges should be short.
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab):
Lab
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Mr McConnell:
Lab
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Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I, too, welcome the minister's statement. I have three short, sharp questions.First, I heard what the minister said about appeals, but there was a little hin...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
Mr Neil will not be surprised to learn that they are easy questions for which there are probably not exact answers. I do not have a figure for the exact spen...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome the minister's statement, especially his commitment to consult the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.Does the minister agree that teachers and...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
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The Presiding Officer:
NPA
We have run out of time, but I will take the four remaining members if they ask one question each. The minister will give an omnibus reply.
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
If the minister were wearing a halo today, it would be a 1,000-watt halo. Well done.I will focus on the data that have come into the SQA system from the Scot...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
Can the minister assure us that his package of measures will greatly reduce the flood of paperwork that engulfs schools and colleges?
Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab):
Lab
Will the minister give a commitment to continue initiatives such as meeting head teachers and teachers at the secondary schools that serve my constituency of...
Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Following on from Hugh Henry's question, I return to the theme of acquiring direct feedback from Scotland's teachers. They can write to the letters pages of ...
Mr McConnell:
Lab
On the first question, we are endeavouring to do just what Mr Stevenson has asked and ensure that all data are appropriate and accurate. On Mr Gorrie's quest...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I thank members for their co-operation.