Glasgow supercollege is born but campus in doubt

SCOTLAND's largest college will come into being tomorrow after ministers approved the merger of three Glasgow education institutions.

• How the new City of Glasgow College could look if the 300m supercampus plan gets the go ahead next year

Moves to formally join the city's Nautical, Central and Metropolitan colleges as the new City of Glasgow College, will officially take place in the first merger of three such institutions in Scotland.

However the move, which is expected to save money by merging background services, does not mean the accompanying 300 million "supercampus" building project, described as potentially the biggest in Europe, will go ahead.

A decision is expected on that by the middle of next year and ministers have warned they will have to look at it in the context of "considerable pressures on public finances".

Scottish Government ministers yesterday approved the controversial merger, in the "strong expectation" of no compulsory redundancies after unions expressed concern about job losses.

Keith Brown, the skills minister, said: "Full consideration was given to the complexity of this proposal. Ultimately, we agree with the Scottish Funding Council, whose role is to ensure efficient and effective delivery of further education, that the merger will deliver substantial benefits to students in Glasgow."

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) which allocates government funding to colleges last week backed the move.

The body said the three colleges' current buildings are in a poor state and there is too much overlap in provision, in a consultation submission published by the Scottish Government last week.

However, in the document, the SFC admitted the journey to merger had not "been straightforward".

Stow College, which pulled out of the original plans, criticised the SFC saying its projected savings were based on incorrect demographic data and called for a full review of the plan.

Those papers were published after accusations of secrecy surrounding the project.

Graham Johnstone, of Scotland's Colleges, described the decision as good news for students.

He said: "The creation of the City of Glasgow College will further enhance the learning environment of the city, and create more choices and better opportunities in the future."

Ronnie Smith, the EIS general secretary, welcomed assurances on jobs. He said: "The Cabinet secretary has made it clear that these include job security, harmonisation of pay and conditions, engagement on other issues of concern, the preparation of the business case for the new campus and further partnership working with other colleges."

Meanwhile, a new college will open in the Highlands today. West Highland College, which will be part of the proposed University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), has been formed by the merger of Lochaber College and Skye and Wester Ross College.