Colleges in a ‘fragile’ state after years of underinvestment, MSPs told
Scotland’s colleges have been left in a “fragile” state following years of underinvestment, MSPs have been told.
Angela Cox, chair of the Colleges Principals Group at Colleges Scotland, told Holyrood’s Education Committee the further education sector was “hanging on by our fingernails”.
She warned that students face a “postcode lottery” in the suitability of facilities as she criticised the funding settlement for the sector.
She told MSPs: “I think over the last few years, colleges have been saying that we were reaching a bit of a precipice.
“I would say that we are now over that precipice, and we’re hanging on by our fingernails.”
She said the increase in college funding in the budget amounted to a real-terms cut.
She added: “The lack of investment in colleges over the last, I would say, five years plus, has meant that we are now in a very fragile state.
“We talk a lot about the learning and teaching budget but I think we also need to think about our infrastructure, which has been underinvested in for the long time, and actually it’s a postcode lottery, depending on the quality of the experience you have as a student when you come to college.
“We’ve got colleges who have buckets in corridors in classrooms catching rainwater.
Andy Witty, director of strategic policy and corporate governance at Colleges Scotland, said he expected the latest budget to oversee a 20% real-terms cut to the college budget in Scotland.
He said colleges also received less funding than other parts of the education system.
He called for previous real-terms cuts to the sector, which he said amounted to 17% of the college budget, to be reversed.
He told MSPs: “The Scottish Funding Council produced a report in January 2024 which was showing the increasing reduction of cash held by colleges.
“And indeed, by July 2026 they predicted there would be a deficit of cash.
“The college sector as a whole would run out of money.
“So I think these reports paint a reasonable and reliable picture of where the finances of the college sector are, which is not in a good state.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role that Scotland’s colleges have in supporting learners to reach their full potential, which is why we have provided a 2.1% uplift for the sector in this year’s Budget.
“This includes more funding for pay and pensions, which the sector specifically requested.
“Colleges have also received an increase of almost 5% in capital maintenance funding to help them to further invest in student’s learning experiences.
“The Scottish Government is kept regularly updated by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on efforts to gather information on the scale of the problem of RAAC in the sector.”