Inside education: Why a lighter touch is needed in funds row

Published on Thursday 21 August 2008 00:41

SINCE Scotland's two funding councils merged three years ago, there has been a battle of wills at the Scottish Funding Council.

Both the further education (FE) side, representing colleges, and higher education (HE) side, which is mainly universities, have been at loggerheads. Each has been battling to ensure the best deal for its own sector.

At the upper echelons, this manifested as a struggle between the chairman, John McClelland, and the former chief executive, Roger McClure, who disagreed on a more interventionist or hands-off approach to funding.

Mr McClure's sudden resignation earlier this year is, reportedly, partly due to this difference of view.

Finding his replacement for this key post in Scottish education became a key act of diplomacy.

Mr McClure's successor, Mark Batho, was chosen and he takes over next month at the body which allocates 1.6 billion of state cash to colleges and universities across Scotland.

His appointment was a careful one, intended to be a calming influence that could placate both the colleges and universities. Described by sources as a "career civil servant", he is being touted as an impartial appointment neither veering to one side or the other.

An insider said: "There has been a tension building up inside the funding council since the merger. The FE and HE merger is something that had never been done before.

"Traditionally, the chief executive would have been a university principal, but because of the tension between further and higher education they had to appoint someone who couldn't be seen as from one side or the other.

"Mark Batho is seen as a career civil servant who will be more inclined to resolve this tension between the chairman, who seeks a more interventionist approach, and the officers, who want to concentrate on funding formulas."

As key stakeholders in the sector met yesterday to discuss funding, the future approach of the SFC is likely to have been a hot topic.

The Future Thinking Taskforce, set up by the Scottish Government and principals after universities received less in the Budget than the amount they said was needed, has already promised changes.

A new, lighter touch is expected to be adopted at the Funding Council.

Hopefully, with the placating influence of Mr Batho, that will be to everyone's satisfaction.