Do as in England
Scotland’s Colleges is pressing the Government to allocate the same funding to FE and training as for England in the Budget. The knock-on effect of additional spending by Whitehall departments should mean an extra Pounds 12 million for training and employment in Scotland and Pounds 17 million for capital investment in colleges. It is up to the Scottish Government how it spends these sums but, in a briefing paper for MSPs, Scotland’s Colleges says the money must be passed on in full to the FE sector.
Triumphant triangle
A “triple alliance” is being forged by Scotland’s three landbased colleges - Elmwood in Fife, Oatridge in West Lothian and Barony in Dumfries. They will market themselves jointly at home and abroad as Scottish Countryside Colleges. They will also work more closely with the Scottish Agricultural College, a higher education institution, to step up the flow of students to degree courses. Meanwhile, Barony College, which is close to the border, is to scrap its Pounds 1,080 annual fees for new students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland on full-time National Certificate courses.
Industrial action
Ayr College members of the Educational Institute of Scotland, who suspended strikes over pay to re-enter management talks, have resumed action after negotiations proved “fruitless”. Lecturers want both sides to go to binding arbitration.
At James Watt College in Greenock, principal Sue Pinder has denied EIS claims that management wants to “derecognise” the union. She said her aim was a new, more “inclusive” agreement with the EIS and Unison, which represents support staff.
Matthew Maciver post
Former General Teaching Council for Scotland registrar Matthew Maciver is the new chair of the board of governors at the UHI Millennium Institute, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands. He will take over from Colin MacKay, past president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, at the end of the year.
Applications increase
The number of undergraduate applicants at Scottish universities and colleges by mid-March was 5.8 per cent up on the same time last year; the increase for English universities is 8.9 per cent, Wales 8.3 per cent and Northern Ireland 6.5 per cent. The number of Scots aged 25 and over applying has risen 15 per cent.
