Education Secretary John Swinney has held on to his job after surviving a no-confidence vote over the pupil grades scandal.
He was kept in post after securing the support of the pro-independence Scottish Greens.
The motion was defeated by 67 votes to 58.
He was also personally backed in the Holyrood debate by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who paid tribute to her deputy.
Swinney faced calls to quit after presiding over one of the biggest debacles in Scottish education history.
Following the cancellation of the exams diet due to coronavirus, final results were calculated by way of a national “moderation” process.
This system, devised by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, led to over 120,000 grades being downgraded on the basis of how a school had performed in recent years.
The reductions disproportionately hit pupils from deprived backgrounds and led to widespread public anger.
Swinney apologised and announced the cancellation of all lowered grades, but he faced a no confidence vote by Labour this afternoon.
Party leader Richard Leonard said the motion was not about “personalities” or “retribution”, but said Swinney had “failed” and “lost the confidence” of the chamber.
His Labour colleague, Iain Gray, described Swinney as a "damaged, part-time Education Secretary", and called on Nicola Sturgeon to remove him.
Opposing the motion, the First Minister described Swinney as one of the most “decent and dedicated people in Scottish politics”.
She said the Government acknowledged making a mistake and had apologised, and criticised the Labour call for a resignation.
Sturgeon said: “This is simply about politics.”
She also said the government had got it “wrong”, but insisted they had listened and learned.
Sturgeon concluded: "I wholeheartedly oppose today's opportunistic motion."
Michael Russell, Swinney's Cabinet colleague, added: "He has no case to answer."
Speaking for the Scottish Tories, who backed Labour's motion, MSP Ruth Davidson said the damage done to Swinney's authority meant he had to go. Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie also spoke in favour.
However, Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer, whose party had been early critics of the SQA system, spoke against the sacking bid.
He said the moderation system should "never" have been put in place, but said his party had been interested in fixing it.
He added that the Greens would have "nothing" to do with the "two faced positions" of the parties supporting the motion.
