Question reference: S6W-02409
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 23 August 2021
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 September 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was to the SQA of implementing the Alternative Certification Model for (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.
Answer
I asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority to reply.
Initial modelling indicates that 53% of SQA’s running costs (permanent SQA staff, overheads and other indirect costs) were attributable to the implementation of the Alternative Certification Model (ACM) in 2020 and 56% are attributable to the implementation of the ACM in 2021. Including direct delivery costs, the cost of the ACM was therefore:
(a) 2020: £33.4m
(b) 2021: £41.7m (forecast)
The SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged to independent schools and colleges for National Qualifications have remained unchanged since 2012-13 despite changes in costs. In addition, 2020 and 2021 late entry fees have been waived and there have been no charges for appeals.
Savings generated by the delivery of the ACM in place of an ordinary exam diet reduced SQA’s grant-in-aid requirement from Scottish Government, and enabled support for other critical pressures, supporting people and communities during the pandemic.