It has been clear for some weeks that Henry McLeish's position on the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board was becoming untenable.

The former first minister has spent three years, first as regional lead, then chair, of the Glasgow organisation.

But weeks before the GCRB was supposed to take over responsibility for dispensing £80m in public funds in April, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) delayed this enhancement of its status due to concerns about progress.

The embarrassing allegation that the board was "far from ready" and the postponement of its 'fundable status' until August was a major blow to the board and its reputation.

The failure to appoint a chief officer was a key concern. The situation was supposed to be resolved by the secondment of senior FSC director Martin Fairbairn as temporary chief officer, with a remit to speed the board's journey towards fundable status.

However, six weeks on, this has still not been resolved, partly due to Mr McLeish's willingness to accept Mr Fairbairn as an interim appointment, but apparent refusal to accept some of the other terms involved.

Mr McLeish's departure, now confirmed, has appeared inevitable ever since four members of his board resigned, including the Glasgow Caledonian University principal Professor Pamela Gillies and Glasgow City Council's education chief, Maureen McKenna.

The latter was explicitly critical of Mr McLeish, and his response to the SFC's concerns, in her resignation letter.

His position has not been helped by the distraction at Glasgow Clyde College - where his role, if any, in the suspension of principal Susan Walsh amid allegations of a "perceived culture of fear and bullying" is still unclear.

Only yesterday it was revealed that former first minister McLeish had stepped down from a role on the Colleges Scotland Board, in order he said, to concentrate and focus on the specific problems in Glasgow. Now he has departed GCRB too. Despite the statement describing it as "a good time to move on" it seems likely that Mr McLeish has chosen jumping as the preferable alternative to being pushed.

The unfolding mess at GCRB has caused concern at the highest levels of government, where ministers are anxious to give the impression that the national strategy of college mergers has been a success.

Rightly or wrongly, Mr McLeish had become seen as a block to progress, and with fellow board members deserting he looked ever more isolated.

His departure, and swift replacement in the shape of experienced SFC board member Ali Jarvis gives the impression of an SFC takeover of the GCRB, which at this stage seems like no bad outcome.

Under Jarvis, one can only assume that the barriers to Mr Fairbairn's troubleshooting role will disappear with the GCRB being promptly prepared to assume its funding role.

This should happen, and it should happen quickly, for the sake of the educations of students at the Glasgow Colleges, and in the interests of the reputation of the college sector at large.

In the meantime the distracting sideshow at Glasgow Clyde College must also urgently be addressed.