Report to the People
20th March 2006
College
Can’t be a Drop-Out
After years of continual
expansion, it’s unusual to be talking about James Watt College scaling back
its operations.
Not
that last week’s disappointing announcement was a complete bolt from the blue,
though. We knew the college had
financial problems - indeed it had been working with the Funding Council to sort
them out. We also knew that the
staff and management were at odds over how the institution was being run.
There’s no doubt that hard
questions have to be asked. How was
the deficit allowed to accumulate? Has
the college management moved fast enough to keep pace with the changes in our
community and the labour market?
The
clear priority now for both management and staff has to be securing the future
of James Watt College.
While
colleges are responsible for running their own affairs, they do spend large sums
of public (in other words, our) money, for which they are publicly accountable.
I have, therefore, been making representations to the Funding Council and
the Lifelong Learning Minister, asking what steps can be taken to ensure that
the college puts its house in order and is ready to give its students the
qualifications they need.
That
James Watt College gets back to the top of the further education class isn’t
just important for the staff. It’s
also vital for the students, whether school-leavers, workers improving their
skills, those on a stepping stone to university, or adult learners getting a
second chance at education.
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