EXAM reform for pupils in Glasgow and around the country is one step closer following the publication of a new Scottish education bill.

The long-awaited legislation, which abolishes the SQA and creates a new national qualifications body, has been published by the Scottish Government.

Teaching unions have urged the move to be “more than just a rebranding exercise.”

The Education (Scotland) Bill reveals the new organisation, to be named Qualifications Scotland, will be operational in autumn 2025.

Also, responsibility for school inspections will be transferred to a new office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland.

Plans to reform the Scottish Qualifications Authority were first announced in 2021, following concerns about how the body had performed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

READ NEXT: Inspectors deliver verdict on Glasgow school's decision to allow boys

In 2023, following a comprehensive consultation, Professor Louise Hayward published a landmark review of qualifications and assessment.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the new bill meant the “knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers would be central to decisions taken on qualifications and assessment.”

Glasgow Times: Scotland's Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth

She added: “I am determined to drive further improvements across Scotland’s schools, and the changes being set out in this bill will strengthen the national education landscape to better support pupils and teachers."

READ NEXT: Having ovarian cancer at 19 was the worst - and funniest - time of my life

Qualifications Scotland will be required to establish dedicated committees for learners and for teachers, and to create two specific “charters” to set out what learners and teachers should expect from the body to ensure its processes are fair and transparent and that the organisation can be held to account by those it serves.

While not part of the bill provisions, Education Scotland’s role as the national education agency is also to be “refocussed” as part of the reform process - including taking a lead on curriculum design, delivery and improvement.

The SQA has welcomed the new legislation as a “catalyst for change”.

Glasgow Times: SQA Chief Executive Fiona Robertson talking to pupils

Chief Executive Fiona Robertson said: “Today’s legislation marks an important milestone.

“It provides clarity that will enable us to accelerate our programme of improvements, innovations, and partnership building."

SQA chairperson Shirley Rogers said: “Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward on the road to a new qualifications body.

“We will continue to work with and for learners, parents and carers, as well as our hard-working teachers and lecturers across Scotland’s schools and colleges, to make sure that we seize this generational opportunity.”

Andrea Bradley, General Secretary of Scotland’s biggest teaching union, the EIS, said: “As with all legislation, the devil is in the detail and we will take time now to consider that detail, to ensure that teachers’ voice is central to the decision-making processes."

Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of teachers’ union NASUWT, said: “It has long been abundantly clear that an overhaul of systems and structures is needed in the interests of schools, teachers and pupils.

“We need to see genuine change created as a result of these reforms. This cannot merely be a rebranding exercise where the same cultures and practices continue to exist under a different name and logo.”