1. Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth was born on 1984 and is a Scottish politician who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023.
21 Facts About Jenny Gilruth
1. 2.
Jenny Gilruth sat on the SNP's backbenches and served successively in the parliament's education, health, justice and social security committees.
3.
Jenny Gilruth was later reshuffled as the transport minister and oversaw the transition of the public ownership of ScotRail.
4.
Jenny Gilruth was first raised in Banff, Aberdeenshire, before her family moved to Ceres, Fife.
5.
Jenny Gilruth was educated at Madras College and lives in Markinch.
6.
Jenny Gilruth graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in sociology and politics, and obtained her Professional Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Strathclyde.
7.
Jenny Gilruth marked exams for the Scottish Qualifications Authority and is a published author.
8.
Jenny Gilruth won the seat with 15,555 votes, with a majority of 8,236; more than double the votes cast for second-place candidate Kay Morrison of Scottish Labour.
9.
Jenny Gilruth succeeded Tricia Marwick, who had been the Presiding Officer in the 4th Scottish Parliament.
10.
In February 2020, Jenny Gilruth joined the Scottish Government as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development as part of the reshuffle following the resignation of Cabinet Secretary for Finance Derek Mackay.
11.
Jenny Gilruth came under criticism in February 2024 as it became to light that she had not read a report into violence in schools in the Aberdeen City Council area.
12.
Jenny Gilruth highlighted the work that was underway within the Scottish Parliament at that point in order to draft a plan which would see the Scottish Government and Scotland's local authorities working together to the combat violence in Scottish schools.
13.
Jenny Gilruth expressed concerns over the number of school pupils leaving school early in Scotland, as well as the "lack of equity" on courses which are currently being provided to pupils in the upper stages of secondary schools in the country.
14.
In September 2024, Jenny Gilruth announced that, moving forward, exams would "play a smaller role in the overall grade" pupils obtain at school.
15.
Jenny Gilruth's announcement followed a major report into the matter, which highlighted "pupils should not sit examinations prior to entering Fifth year".
16.
Jenny Gilruth confirmed that "exams would still play a part in most courses, but that more emphasis should be put on coursework and classroom assessment".
17.
The Scottish Government was criticised for failing to implement more recommendations made in the report into Scotland's examination network Jenny Gilruth stated that other recommendations "needed more work" and were the "longer term aim of the Scottish Government to implement".
18.
In March 2025, Jenny Gilruth was asked to intervene regarding the condition of Buckie High School in Moray, which was described as "one of the worst in Scotland" by a Moray Council councillor.
19.
In March 2025, Jenny Gilruth confirmed that the Scottish Government "will stand by free tuition fees" despite funding challenges faced by Scottish universities.
20.
Jenny Gilruth confirmed that the Scottish National Party who run the Scottish Government, will "never support a policy where we bring back tuition fees", claiming that "we need to look to the progress we have made in relation to widening access to children from our poorer communities".
21.
On 15 July 2017, it was announced Jenny Gilruth was in a relationship with Kezia Dugdale, who was, at that time, leader of the Scottish Labour Party.