A FOURTH member of a troubled Glasgow colleges board headed up by former First Minister Henry McLeish has confirmed his resignation, blaming "incredibly worrying developments" in the sector.

Andrew Aitken, student president at Glasgow Kelvin College, said he felt he had "no option" but to step down as a member of Glasgow Colleges Regional Board amid concerns that student representation was being undermined.

Mr Aitken said: "For the last few months we've seen some incredibly worrying developments in the region, with students simply not having their voices listened to at times, issues not being faced up to in the way they should. We have consistently looked to the chair of the board to take action, and win back the trust of students, but to no avail."

It follows the resignations of three other high-profile members this week, with Professor Pamela Gillies, the principal of Glasgow Caledonian University, and Maureen McKenna, the education director of Glasgow City Council, quitting the board on Monday, followed 24 hours later by Barclay McCrindle, president and chief executive of the Glasgow Clyde College Student Association (GCCSA).

All three cited concerns about the way the board, which controls Glasgow's three colleges, is being run.

The board should have been in a position to take over the administration of the £80 million total funding for the sector in April, but the date has now been moved back to August after the Scottish Funding Council ruled the body was "far from ready".

The resignations also come amid an ongoing investigation into allegations of a "perceived culture of fear and bullying" at Glasgow Clyde College.

Mr McLeish has rebuffed criticism over his leadership.

He blamed Ms Gillies and Ms McKenna's departures on them becoming "caught up in the situation in Clyde College".

He also defended the GCRB's apparent silence on the strife-hit college, saying it "didn't make sense to enter the fray" while investigations were ongoing.