A major independent review of Scottish education has been delayed until after the next Holyrood election.
Education Secretary John Swinney said the coronavirus crisis means a report won’t be ready until June next year, four months later than expected.
The state of education is expected to be a key debate in the run-up to the vote in May 2021.
Labour said the delay is "inevitable but disappointing".
Swinney revealed the lag in a written answer to a question at Holyrood, explaining how the Covid-19 pandemic presents "unprecedented challenges" for the education system.
He added: "Our overriding priorities are ensuring the health and wellbeing of children, young people and staff and maintaining a continuity of learning wherever possible whilst schools are closed, as well as planning and preparing for a recovery phase."
The original timetable, published in February this year, gave one year for the work to conclude. The new timetable postpones work until September with a final report in June.
It was intended to look at the senior phase of the curriculum but was expanded in January to take in the early years of schooling after pressure from opposition MSPs.
The review will be led by experts from the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: "It took years to get the SNP government to acknowledge these problems and accept the need for the review – that delay now means it has been caught up in the covid-19 crisis.
"Reopening schools is going to be challenging, but this review is looking at problems of structure and resource that will still need to be addressed in the longer term."
Tory education spokesman Jamie Greene said the delay is "completely unnecessary".
He added: "Delaying this report until days after next year’s Holyrood election seems far more to do with political expediency than Covid-19.
"Tackling Covid-19 is everyone’s top priority, but there is simply no need for such a lengthy delay to this report - it must be published before May 2021."
