AS a former board member of John Wheatley College I was delighted to see that Kelvin College, its successor, has continued the tradition of serving the educational needs of the east end of Glasgow as a priority.
What the principal, Alan Sherry, did not mention in his letter (October 22), perhaps tactfully, is the serious shortage of resources to carry out this work.
Not everyone realises that Scotland's famous decision not to impose charges for university education has been largely paid for by the college sector.
Since 2010/11 some £60 million per annum has been deducted from the colleges' budget. In session 2010/11 almost 272,000 students enrolled in colleges. In 2012/13 (the last year for which I have figures) this had fallen to 204,000 students - a reduction of some 25 per cent in less than three years.
This has meant that while the alumni of Prince William's university celebrate their free places with their gowns and their splodges of foam, thousands of unemployed people are left sitting at home because there are no college places for them. (The cuts have affected particularly the courses designed to attract students previously alienated from the educational system, since many of them did not necessarily lead to certificates or awards).
To put it another way, the same part of society which has been selected by the UK Government to bear the brunt of public spending cuts on benefits and unemployment pay has been selected by the Scottish Government to pay for a sector of education principally catering for the middle classes.
Martin Axford,
18 Bonar Crescent,
Bridge of Weir.
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