A Fife college principal has criticised cuts to funding, describing them as “a recipe for disaster” for the provision of future skills.
Professor Bill McIntosh, principal of Carnegie College, made his comments heard during a week which has seen protests by Unison members at the college’s base in Dunfermline and also concerns over the future of Adam Smith College’s theatre arts course.
It is believed that the funding crisis in Scotland’s colleges is leading to them turning away around four times as many applicants as last year.
Mr McIntosh, who steps down as principal at the end of the month, said he feels the funding issue is detrimental to students’ futures.
“As an organisation we fully understand the current constraints on the public purse,” he said on Thursday.
“However, the scale of the cuts makes no allowance for the increased demand for places at Carnegie College. We have seen a 70% increase in demand for places over the last two years and we are trying to support the skills needed now by our business and industry partners in order to stimulate economic recovery.
“This is a real blow for people and their families, and is a recipe for disaster for the provision of future skills.
“That said, we will continue to explore all possible solutions to ensure that the people of Fife are not disadvantaged, but I would urge anyone considering Carnegie College this year to apply as early as possible to enable them to secure a place and access the appropriate funding.”
On Wednesday, staff members of Unison protested at the planned cuts to funding outside Carnegie College in Dunfermline. The group stood outside the college at lunchtime to voice their opposition.
A spokesperson for Carnegie College said, “Some our staff who are members of Unison stood outside the college in Dunfermline on Wednesday at lunchtime. They are against the cuts to funding.
“It is a pity about the funding as we have seen an increase in the number of student applications for the college.”
She added that the college did not wish to comment on whether any courses would be affected by the funding crisis.