Carnegie College to Collaborate With Other Fife Colleges

An announcement that colleges are to be organised into 12 regions and collaborate within those regions has been welcomed by SNP MSP Bill Walker.

The Scottish Government Education Secretary, Mike Russell, has stated colleges are to plan regionally and deliver locally.

Mr Walker, whose Dunfermline constituency includes Carnegie College, said:

“This will mean Carnegie, Adam Smith and Elmwood Colleges working together. Carnegie College will collaborate and plan with the others but will continue to deliver locally.

“By moving towards a more regional basis, Carnegie College will be even more responsive and effective in addressing the needs of students.

“The Education Secretary is taking forward the recommendations of higher and further education governance reports and has made a commitment to consult with colleges as he does so.”

Education Secretary Mr Russell has praised the Scottish system of post-16 education, saying it serves young people in Scotland well in equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed for the workplace, but he added, “However that doesn’t mean we are complacent. We need to make sure our system is the best it can be.”

Mr Russell has published reviews carried out by Professor Griggs OBE and Professor von Prondzynski, which he believes can “help develop the way our institutions are managed” by reforming post-16 education to “put learners at the centre of our education system”.

He said: “This approach was proposed in two Scottish Government consultations last year and regionalisation has been strongly supported by the college sector and others in their responses.

“Principals know I am listening and that they are influencing the debate. We are having the kinds of conversations people said were impossible.”