Colleges to get funding increase

Loans will be available to students at risk of dropping out of their courses

Scottish colleges have welcomed an announcement that they will receive an extra £14m in funding next year.

The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) will spend £572m on Scotland's 43 colleges in 2009-10, a 2.5% rise on this year.

Colleges said the extra money would help improve student support in "challenging economic times".

Much of the increase will go towards bursaries, childcare and discretionary funding for students.

It will also help fund more courses aimed at helping people at risk of redundancy under the national Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (Pace) programme.

'Challenging times'

Mark Batho, chief executive of the SFC, said: "Scotland's colleges are already responding strongly to the economic downturn and we recognise the work they are doing through initiatives such as Pace, where they are can respond very quickly to help people facing unemployment.

"The Scottish Funding Council's increased investment in Pace and support for students will put public money where it is needed most."

Chris Travis, chief executive of Scotland's Colleges, said they were a "key vehicle" in developing the skills and training necessary to see the economy through the recession.

He added: "The increase in funding for colleges is encouraging and takes into account the need to provide increased financial support for colleges and students, particularly in these challenging economic times.

"Scotland's college sector is working hard to minimise the effects of the recession and we are highly aware of the importance of increased student support.

"While the bursary allocation is positive, we hope to see this increased in future and also see the introduction of bursaries for higher education students, removing the burden of student debt."

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