It was never, of course, going to be an entirely pain-free process, or one that did not arouse concerns. But for better or ill, Scotland's fast-tracked programme of merging further education colleges, pushed through by Michael Russell, the then Education Secretary, and which began in 2011/12, is a thing of the past. Where there were once 37 colleges there are now 20.
At the time there were concerns the process was chaotic and that it was being done much too quickly. The Scottish Funding Council, however, asserts today that the programme has created colleges which are more resilient and future-proofed. Skills engagement with universities and employers has been improved; the new, larger colleges have a clear focus on putting the learner at the centre of things. The original merger costs have been covered by savings in some 18 months.
Scotland's FE landscape is now very different. The emphasis is on full-time places, partly at the expense of part-time places. The EIS remains vexed by cuts to staffing and the provision of courses and places, and of course Audit Scotland found last year there was no evidence of wider financial savings or improvements to education. It is doubly concerning, then, that the SFC report also highlights a drop in student performance in some merged colleges last year. This must not be allowed to continue.
But this new landscape is permanent. The same goes for Police Scotland, another product of a high-profile and contentious merger which will, in time, settle down into hard fact. Might there be a lesson here for Scotland's health service? The regional health and specialist boards face cuts of £407 million this year. Difficult choices will need to be made, and nettles grasped; local protests will arise, but in the longer term the evidence from the colleges and Police Scotland is that such approaches can surely be made to work to benefit the wider community.
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