A probe into serious allegations of bullying and mismanagement at one of Scotland’s top colleges has led to calls for a police inquiry.
The Scottish Funding Council, ordered by the Scottish Government to carry out an independent review at Adam Smith College, has released a devastating picture of a college in crisis.
The SFC has made 26 recommendations for action, the most serious of which centre on claims of bullying and intimidating behaviour by staff and misuse of college funds.
Further independent investigations will now be launched as a matter of urgency to ascertain whether disciplinary action should be taken against senior staff members.
The full report has not been released amid fears it could prejudice any future disciplinary procedures, although calls have been made for it to be made public at some point.
However, it is clear that investigators have uncovered a lack of governance procedures at the Fife college and a culture of senior staff being allowed to do as they liked without any checks.
Kirkcaldy MSP David Torrance has said the police should be brought in if the allegations relating to college funds were substantiated.
These hinge on apparent attempts to coerce staff to manipulate or falsify staff timesheets on projects and the use of college staff time and resources for personal purposes.
The SFC said that given a general lack of confidence in internal processes, the college board should refer these matters to an external team with no involvement with the college.
The board has called the action plan ”a blueprint for reform” and given it its full backing. It now intends to put in place a number of measures to address the outstanding issues.’Damning report’Among them is agreement to initiate the recommended independent reviews and said further investigations would take place against specific individuals where the evidence was strong enough. These are expected to be complete by the end of May.
The SFC’s two-week review, which took on board the views of over 200 staff and students, ended on March 23, and its report was considered at a special meeting of the board of governors last week.
The process has already led to the resignation of college principal Dr Craig Thomson and speculation is rife that other senior executives’ heads could be about to roll.
Dr Thomson refused to comment on the findings on Wednesday but he is believed to reject any allegations of bullying on his part.
Mr Torrance branded the report ”damning” and said: ”It shows there was a lack of direction when it came to dealing with complaints and governance procedures were drastically lacking.
”The report shows the depth of feeling and lack of confidence in the internal procedures and it has been recommended an independent external team be brought in to help restore confidence.
”It’s a damning report from the funding council and if it’s the case that public funds have been misused then I think the police should investigate it.”
He added: ”To have recommendations on 26 failures is ridiculous and this should not have happened in one of the leading colleges in Scotland.”
Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Tricia Marwick said the SFC’s report was ”absolutely devastating”.
”It shows the current Secretary of Education Mike Russell was absolutely right to call in the funding council to carry out a complete review.
”I recognise there are disciplinary issues that need to be addressed by Adam Smith College but I expect them to act quickly to resolve these and it is my hope that the full report will be published as soon as possible,” she said.’A path to being a better place’Mrs Marwick claimed it was clear that Adam Smith College had not been working effectively for a number of years.
”The tragedy is it has taken so long for those most closely involved to highlight the problems,” she added.
Adam Smith College said it was now trying to create a ”new, inclusive culture which embraces staff, students, managers and board members and focuses on shared values”.
Board chairman Mark Goldsmith said: ”The review’s recommendations distil the views of over 200 staff and students and the advice of the funding council’s independent experts into a blueprint for reform.
”By matching each of the recommendations with a set of actions we are setting ourselves clearly and decisively on a path to being a better place to learn and work.
”The board and the senior management team here at Adam Smith College are committed to moving forward and to rebuilding our college community.”
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who was visiting Fife on Wednesday, said: ”What’s really encouraging about this is the college itself has said it will follow the plan that has been laid out. Adam Smith College is a big component of education in Fife and it needs to be run well.”
Local MP Gordon Brown, who is also chancellor of the college, said: ”The chancellor of the Adam Smith College has never had nor should have any role whatsoever in the college administration, which is, rightly, a matter for the principal, his staff and the college board.
“I wish the acting principal and the college board well in the difficult and challenging tasks of implementing the reviews conclusions in the times ahead.”