Scotland heads for FE bursary crisis

MORE than 100 students who faced the prospect of quitting Clydebank College because its bursary funds had run out have won a reprieve.

The Scottish Office has agreed to speed up payments from the European Social Fund to the college, which will waive its fees and free more cash for bursaries following lobbying from local Labour MPs Tony Worthington and John McFall last week.

But Keith Robson, Scottish president of the National Union of Students, warned that Clydebank was only the tip of a bursary iceberg. High unemployment has pushed up demand for further education when colleges are cash-strapped.

"The traditional January intake of students is still going ahead. How many of these new students will receive bursaries?" asked Mr Robson.

Responsibility for bursaries was last year transferred to colleges from local education authorities amid warnings from NUS Scotland that the timetable for setting up the new system was too short, and that there would be delays and mistakes in bursary payments.

Clydebank's principal, Bill Greenock, said: "I am delighted that we have found a solution that will be fair to the students. We do not want to lose them and they do not want to leave college."