College student numbers down by 80,000

Education Correspondent

Tuesday 2 October 2012

THE number of students at Scottish colleges has dropped by up to 80,000 as a result of the Scottish Government putting full-time courses for teenagers before part-time courses, new figures show.

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Andrew Denholm Education Correspondent

The dramatic decline since 2008/09 is highlighted in a submission to the Scottish Parliament's education committee from Scotland's Colleges, which represents the sector.

The reason for the fall – from 385,000 in 2008/09 to 306,000 in 2010/11 – is the Scottish Government's decision to put priority on full-time courses for 16 to 19-year-olds at the expense of part-time courses.

Ministers are still funding roughly the same number of hours of learning every year, but want to see youth unemployment reduced through longer courses for younger learners.However, Scotland's Colleges has warned the policy means other potential students are missing out.Its submission states: "Student numbers have fallen by approximately 80,000 on the previous two years and that trend is likely to have continued for 2011/12 and 2012/13. This, in part, reflects the shift towards more full-time provision, particularly for younger students."Scotland's Colleges remains concerned at the potential impact on other age category learners, who tend to study part-time, often returning to education after having children, or whilst employed, to improve job progression and skills."These concerns were shared by Mary Goodman, senior policy adviser from the Federation of Small Businesses.In a separate submission to the committee, she said: "We believe that colleges need to -deliver more flexible provision, which includes offering courses relevant to local businesses in bite-size modules."That included organising vocational courses to fit in with working patterns of industry including shift work, weekend work and evening work, she said.A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland union, which represents lecturers, echoed the concerns."The decline in the number of people studying on courses at colleges is an issue of real concern and is compounded by significant cuts to funding for college teaching and the loss of many lecturing and support staff jobs over the past year," he said."While the Scottish Government will point to a relatively stable number of full-time equivalent places, the reality is around 80,000 fewer people are now studying in Scotland's colleges."This highlights a narrowing of educational opportunities for learners of all ages, and a worrying decline in Government support for lifelong learning through Scotland's colleges."A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Improving the employability and life chances of our young people is fundamental to Scotland's economy, which is why Scotland's colleges are prioritising delivery of full-time courses for the 16-to-24 age group."

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College student numbers down by 80,000

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