Malpractice report to be public, says Liddell

Scottish education minister Helen Liddell is calling for the publication of a report on alleged malpractice at Glasgow Caledonian University. The inquiry, led by John Darby, former vice-principal of Napier University, was launched more than a year ago following allegations by former GCU academic John O'Dowd that academic standards had been compromised in a bid to maintain student numbers and funding. Mrs Liddell, writing to Mr O'Dowd's MP, John Reid, said that while the report remained unpublished, she had just received comments on it from John Sizer, chief executive of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. Professor Sizer said the report had found "serious lapses", which put the university's reputation at risk. But it concluded there had been no drop in academic standards or quality. A university spokeswoman said it was hoped the report would be published before Christmas.