Holyrood warned college merging is not a quick fix

Education Correspondent

Monday 24 September 2012

THE strategy of widespread college mergers across Scotland is not a quick fix for the problems facing the sector, a leading academic has warned.

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Andrew Denholm Education Correspondent

Jim Gallacher, Emeritus Professor of Lifelong Learning at Glasgow Caledonian University, makes the claim about the Scottish Government's policy in written evidence to the Holyrood education committee, which meets tomorrow.

It comes after The Herald revealed colleges had tens of thousands of would-be students on their waiting lists.

The Government said the problem could be explained by students making multiple applications, but colleges argued cuts to teaching budgets were restricting courses.Michael Russell, the Education Secretary, said an ongoing restructuring of further education, with widespread college mergers along regional lines, would save money and improve provision.In his submission, Mr Gallacher agreed with the need for reorganisation, but went on to urge caution over the strategy: "College mergers can be complex, difficult and time-consuming processes, and the savings they result in may take some time to be realised."At a time of economic stringency and cuts in the college budget, there is no evidence that this is a quick fix."Mr Gallacher also warned mergers could damage the local nature of college community provision, seen as vital in giving the unemployed new skills."There is - evidence that provision of this kind is vulnerable when rationalisation of provision takes place," he said."It will be important that locally based provision is not lost in the process of merger and reorganisation."The Scottish Government's strategy of regionalisation also came under fire from unions, which have submitted evidence to the education committee.A paper from Unison, the country's largest public-sector union, says: "Colleges are already cutting jobs and closing courses in response to funding cuts. We expect there will be far more as the cuts begin to bite."Colleges will also face the added complications of a new regional structure and the funding cuts also seem to be encouraging many colleges to merge."We believe that regionalisation could make a difficult situation worse."Unison said the problems faced by colleges were a result of the Scottish Governmnent's decision to prioritise higher education."The priority in post 16-education appears to be the Government's commitment to free higher education for Scottish students," the paper added."Further education budgets have on the other hand been cut by 13.5% over the next three years – a £70 million cut." A submission from the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said: "We believe that the reduced funding for colleges has ... reduced the amount of teaching activity within the sector, which has led to fewer students and fewer courses available for students."A spokesman for the Scottish Government welcomed Mr Gallacher's broad agreement with its policy."The Scottish Government recognises the importance of local delivery of college courses and is introducing 13 college regions so provision can be planned strategically and delivered locally in line with the needs of learners and employers," he said."Good progress has already been made on this and a range of efficiency measures will be realised in the immediate, medium and long term. "Overall, our post-16 reforms will create better life chances for young people."

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Holyrood warned college merging is not a quick fix

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