More College funding needed after "draconian" cuts - claim EIS
Lecturers are calling on the Education Secretary to inject extra cash into Scotland's colleges in the wake of ``draconian cuts''.
Lecturers are calling on the Education Secretary to inject extra cash into Scotland's colleges in the wake of draconian cuts''.
Members of the EIS trade union made the plea to Angela Constance ahead of a demonstration on college funding in Edinburgh on Friday afternoon.
The protest is taking place outside the main offices of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC), the body which distributes cash to colleges and universities.
The union also demanded the SFC bring an end to the enormous pay-offs'' that have been made to some senior staff as a result of college mergers.
The Further Education Lecturers Association (FELA) branch of the EIS is currently considering industrial action over pay, with members having rejected a 1% offer.
EIS-FELA president John Kelly said: The main focus of our lobby here today is to highlight the appalling attacks which further education (FE) provision in colleges has come under over the past few years.''
He claimed the SFC has implemented draconian cuts on FE colleges which have been exacerbated further by light-touch regulation''.
Mr Kelly added: Principals in conjunction with boards of management have awarded themselves enormous pay-offs at the same time that we are repeatedly told that there is no money for FE courses.
Colleges have experienced course cuts and job cuts at the same time as reports of £2.4 million being shared among 13 principals.
We are calling on Angela Constance to inject more money into the sector, however at the same time we are also urging the SFC to switch off the green light which has been shown to colleges allowing them to spend on a few, at the expense of FE students and staff.''
Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: It is disappointing that the EIS has chosen to stage a demonstration and undermine all the great work that goes on in colleges across Scotland every day.
We hope that no students have been disrupted because of today's unofficial demonstration.
While we recognise that there have been a few legacy issues, they should not detract from the excellent work that colleges do for the benefit of students and the hard work and dedication of staff in colleges.
Colleges transform lives and give people opportunities to learn new skills, gain qualifications and contribute to society and the Scottish economy.
It is important to remember that decisions taken on severance were made pre-merger by legacy colleges, and not by existing colleges.
There are now sector-wide procedures and processes in place to effectively manage severance and we are confident that these will provide greater accountability and ensure value for money for public finances.''
A Scottish Government spokesman said: This Government has a strong track record on colleges and recognises that they are vital to Scotland's success.
We have invested significantly in colleges since 2007 and are providing resource funding of £526 million to the sector in 2015-16.
The Scottish Government remains committed to national bargaining in our further education sector.
However, we recognise that moving towards this approach was always going to be challenging given the level of change required.
For this reason, we consider this year to be a transitional year where we expect a willingness on both sides to move things forward; not everything can be achieved quickly, or all at once.
We have been clear that the college severance arrangements described in the Auditor General's report were completely unacceptable.''