The announcement was made by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council, which said Mr Burt would head a new FE development directorate of the sector’s “most successful managers.” They will all be seconded from the colleges to work either for one or two days over several months or full-time over more intensive periods, depending on the nature of the assignment.

In a circular to colleges, Roger McClure, the council’s chief executive, said the move was an opportunity “to take and be seen to take a firm grip on the management difficulties, particularly in the area of finance, which have distorted public perception of the many achievements of the sector and distracted many senior management teams away from the educational mission of their colleges”.