MINISTERS are facing a call to launch a Scottish Graduation Certificate, amid claims from opposition politicians that new analysis of exam results shows falling attainment for the Scottish Baccalaureate.
Scottish Labour has called for the introduction of a qualification that would be gained at the senior phase of secondary school and would involve vocational courses, work experience, voluntary achievement and traditional exams.
The certificate would mean formal recognition for young people with fewer traditional qualifications, the party said.
However, the SNP defended its record on education and and highlighted figures that showed the Government has built or refurbished twice as many schools as the previous administrations under Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
There were 607 schools built and refurbished between 2008 and 2015, compared with 308 in 1999 and 2007 under the Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition, data obtained from the Scottish Government by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) shows.
SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, a former teacher, said the improvements had created an environment for school students to thrive in and lead to ongoing improvements in attainment.
The Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP said: “These figures highlight the importance the SNP has placed on providing both pupils and teachers with the very best learning environment.
“As a former teacher myself, I know the difference that a modern, accessible and welcoming school building can make to pupils’ attainment and to the performance of staff. “
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said his party’s Scottish Graduation Certificate plan would be similar to a scheme run in Wales, the “Welsh Baccalaureate” – where an agreement has been made with top universities to treat the Baccalaureate as a formal qualification for the purposes of admissions.
The graduation certificate would replace the current Scottish Baccalaureate, which Labour said is seeing falling levels of attainment,with only 73.6 per cent of the 140 pupils taking part this year achieving the baccalaureate.
Gray’s call for the shake-up came after Labour called for exam appeal charges to be scrapped with the system currently favouring private-school pupils.
Statistics from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) showed that in 2015 independent schools appealed six per cent of exam results compared to 2.1 per cent of results that were appealed by council-run secondaries.
However, Gray said the certificate would allow formal recognition for young people with fewer traditional qualifications and offer more vocational options in partnership with colleges.
Gray said: “This certificate would be a useful qualification for young people applying to college, university or to a potential employer. For employers it would give a more complete and rounded indication of the young person’s potential. In Wales, for example, the Baccalaureate is already considered equivalent to an additional exam pass by universities. We should follow that lead.
“Traditional qualifications don’t work for everyone, but we should make sure our education system does.
“A Scottish Graduation Certificate will work for thousands of young people across the country who have skills and talents that simply aren’t recognised by today’s education system.”
The Scottish Government said it would consider the call for a graduation certificate, but insisted that exam grades had improved in the last year.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is determined to make further improvements to our education system and will consider all relevant suggestions. SQA exam results, published last week, show that qualifications recognising life and work skills – such as Awards, National Certificates and National Progression Awards – are up 22.8 per cent.
“Across Scotland attainment is again high this year, with students achieving a record 156,000 Higher passes – up 5.5 per cent on 2014.”
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