Date: Tues 4 May 2010

Parliament lobby over Scottish Education Funding Council threats to Glasgow college

Staff from Glasgow’s Stow College will lobby the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 4 May as part of their campaign to save the threatened college, which is facing removal of its funding unless a large number of courses are transferred out of the college to the newly merged City of Glasgow College.

The lobby organised by the education union, UNISON, will take place at the Scottish Parliament between 11.30am and 1.00pm, and it is hoped to meet a number of MSPs.

Stow College removed itself from the merger process involving the Metropolitan College, and the other colleges planning to form the new City of Glasgow College. Subsequent discussion over merger with North Glasgow College are only at an early talks stage.

Jim Snell, UNISON Glasgow City Branch Service Conditions Officer said “Despite the withdrawal of Stow from the merged college, the Scottish Funding Council still wants certain courses and student numbers to be delivered from within the new college structure. It has now told Stow that to receive any grant this year it must transfer a number of course and consequently students, to the new college.

“However if Stow does this then it will be longer be a viable college, so in essence it is being forced to the merger table or to huge uncertainty. Members at Stow are scared by the Funding Council’s threat to their future. This lobby has been arranged as the start of a wider campaign to save Stow.”

The wider campaign will include the EIS and the STUC given that Stow delivers a huge number of TU courses.

ENDS

Information For Editors: Members of the college staff will be available for interview at the lobby.

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