Scotland’s exam authority, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), has replaced terms like “slaves” and “slave trade” with “enslaved people” and “the trade in enslaved African people” as part of efforts to “decolonize” the curriculum.
The change, introduced last summer, comes after education leaders in England called for the award-winning TV series Roots, which depicts slavery in America, to be banned from history lessons.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority’s move to replace terms like “slaves” with “enslaved people” aligns with broader efforts to “decolonize” the curriculum, including sidelining national Bard Robert Burns in favor of modern writers in schools.
Supporters argue the new language emphasizes the forced nature of slavery, while critics, including historian Chris McGovern, accuse education chiefs of “distorting” history, according to Daily Mail.
“Of course children need to know the great evil of the slave trade, but this suggests it was only white people enslaving black people. It is immensely damaging.”
Director of the Free Speech Union in Scotland Fraser Hudghton said: “We have a country bursting at the seams with quangos obsessed with ‘white privilege’ and ‘unconscious bias’, which are diversions from the clear problems in our classrooms which need dealt with as a priority.”
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Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said: “The SQA has been embroiled in a series of high-profile failures. It ought to be concentrating on getting its own house in order, rather than spending resources on issues like this.”
Documents obtained through freedom of information requests reveal that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has formed a History Qualifications Working Group to help “decolonize” the curriculum and incorporate anti-racism into lessons.
The concept of “decolonizing the curriculum,” introduced in 2015, focuses on challenging established historical narratives tied to colonial powers.
Documents reveal that in June of last year, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) updated its language in history, geography, and classical studies exams, shifting from terms like “slavery” and “slaves” to focus on “enslavement of people.”
This change marked the beginning of the SQA’s efforts to incorporate anti-racism and decolonized approaches into exam content.
The SQA is set to be replaced by Qualifications Scotland this year following multiple controversies, including Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth’s apology for causing “undue stress” after blank emails were sent to students on results day last summer.
An SQA spokesman said: “The SQA has updated language in our course specifications to reflect modern understanding of enslavement, colonialism and race.”
