Students hit back at college cuts proposal

Jan 18 2013 by Ross Dunn, Irvine Herald

The Irvine Herald revealed in the past few weeks that James Watt College had to turn away thousands of students for courses because of budget cuts.

Now, students across Scotland have emailed MSPs in their thousands, calling for the £34.6m cut to college budgets to be reversed.

A freedom of information act revealed that James Watt was unable to accommodate 1261 students in 2012/13.

Students now fear that with further cuts on the horizon, this figure could increase.

In a bid to quell the rising figures, students’ associations are working to secure commitments from MSPs to make college funding a priority in the upcoming budget negotiations and protect college funding at current levels.

NUS (National Union of Students) Scotland’s campaign against college budget cuts, Fund Scotland’s Future, asks staff and people who value the benefit that colleges bring to their community, to contact MSPs of every party through the website www.fundsscotlandsfuture.org

Graeme Kirkpatrick, VP Education of NUS Scotland, said: “It’s great that over 15,000 emails have been sent to MSPs of every party calling on them to make college funding a priority in budget negotiations.

“Colleges play a huge role in Scotland’s economy, whether it’s by offering young people opportunities to earn new skills, or by giving others the chance to return to education and re-skill. Scotland’s colleges change communities and lives and must be protected.”