EXCLUSIVE
POST-school education is near crisis point and many further education colleges are on the verge of bankruptcy because of Government underfunding, according to Scotland's biggest teaching union.
The Educational Institute of Scotland has written to Education Minister Brian Wilson warning that the sector is on the verge of meltdown. It is calling on the Government to provide more cash and to end the ''scandal'' of a self-governing free-for-all which has led to lecturers having their wages cut while some senior managers have struck secret deals for salary rises of almost 25%.
The union's position is supported by the college management organisation, the Association of Scottish Colleges, which claims the Government's spending plans are unsustainable.
John Cassidy, president of the EIS College Lecturers' Association, claims that Mr Wilson has been making false claims about funding to Scotland's 43 FE colleges, only 11 of which have received funding above the rate of inflation. Of these, he claims, six fell below break-even point.
Earlier this year thousands of students missed classes at Clydebank and Reid Kerr College in Paisley after lecturers walked out over pay and conditions.
A financial settlement was agreed to bail out Clydebank which now faces having to lay off 31 lecturers. Several other colleges are facing a similar situation.
In an open letter to Mr Wilson, Mr Cassidy claims the Government has done little more than the previous Conservative administration to support the sector.
He insists Mr Wilson has simply cut college funding by #8m less than the Tories intended, and most of that has been used to pay for admin and fees rather than salaries and capital projects.
His letter states that since 1995 there has been a 15% increase in student activity within the sector, but, in real terms, there has been a 20% cut in funding. Of the 43 FE colleges, 39 are in the red.
It adds: ''The financial situation of many colleges is verging upon insolvency. If it is the intention to provide a comprehensive post-school education provision, it is essential that the Government creates a national framework for a truly national FE sector.''
Tom Kelly, chief executive of the ASC, said a college's ability to pay did not depend on its self-governing status. But he added: ''I don't think there's any lack of sympathy to the case the staff have made, and we welcome the support the EIS has given.
''The Government has made no allowances for pay increases or for the new activities that colleges have been generating. We have put that to Ministers. They have put in extra money - that much is true. But it's not enough to turn the situation around.''
A Scottish Office spokesman said last night that it was providing an additional #11.4m for the FE sector for 1998-99 over and above the plans of the previous Government. In a year of great pressure on resources, it illustrated the Government's commitment to the FE sector's contribution to life-long learning.
The Government was supporting three capital projects at Cardonald, Stevenson, and at Lews Castle, and was committed to funding these projects through to completion. Funding for minor capital works was included in colleges' recurrent grant. In total, it was providing more than #7m in direct capital funding to the FE sector this year.
The spokesman added: ''It is a condition of grant that all FE colleges have a remuneration committee which determines the salary of senior college employees. It is also a requirement that remuneration of senior staff is disclosed in the colleges' annual accounts (in bands, eg #50k-#60k). So this information is publicly available.
''In relation to the lack of a national framework for FE, we are currently developing, in consultation with the sector, a strategic framework to promote co-operation between colleges and to widen access to further education.''
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