Enid Rowlands will not seek reappointment this autumn to Wales' biggest quango, which co-ordinates all post-16 education and training.

Mrs Rowlands earlier said she would not resign when a damning report was published in March attacking a serious of failures in Elwa.

But now BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye programme has learned she has written to Education Minister Jane Davidson, telling her she does not want to continue when her current term ends in October.

Troubled

Elwa has run into a series of problems since it was launched in a blaze of publicity two years ago.

Elwa has had problems since its launch two years ago

Only this week, the body announced that it was cutting up to 100 jobs.

The Welsh Assembly Government said the education minister had accepted Mrs Rowlands' decision.

Ms Davidson is writing to the other parties in the assembly about the development.

Damaged

Elwa has an annual budget of �800m to replace all Training and and Enterprise Council and other bodies.

But the speed with which further and higher education provision were united has proved disastrous.

Earlier this year two damaging reports found that Elwa had spent more than two million pounds of public money without the assembly's permission.

Another report accused it of serious financial mismanagement.

In a statement, Elwa said Mrs Rowlands had agreed to stay in post until a successor was appointed.