Fred Forrester, the union’s depute general secretary, condemned the absence of teachers and lecturers from the 18 members announced last week and said their presence was vital to the success of Higher Still, which will be one of the SQA’s main responsibilities. The body will initially have one FE principal, three headteachers and one trade unionist. Industry and commerce have six seats.

Mr Forrester said this confirmed fears that the new body would not be representative of key parts of the education service. He added: “The EIS put forward 10 nominations covering a balance of gender, grades of post and geographical spread. It is deeply disappointing, not only that every EIS nominee has been rejected, but also that there is no place on the SQA for any practising teachers below the grade of headteacher or for any lecturers in further or higher education.”

The SQA takes over from the Scottish Examination Board and the Scottish Vocational Education Council in April.

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