Created on: 26 Sep 2025
The report from the SFC on the sustainability of Scotland's colleges is bleak. In fact, it states that most of Scotland’s colleges are unsustainable.
It highlights how years of real-terms cash cuts for the sector are beginning to seriously bite with up to 18 colleges facing net cash outflows by 2027-28.
Whilst EIS-FELA / EIS has consistently maintained there needs to be better scrutiny and accountability in terms of ensuring public money is well spent in the sector, we are assured by this report that more investment is required in the sector. A further cut of 6.6% of staff, on top of the 7% to date, will compromise the education of students and will negatively impact social cohesion in communities.
EIS-FELA are disappointed the SFC have framed staff inflationary (and, at times, sub-inflationary) pay awards as an overall driver of the apparent unsustainability of the sector. Living wage or nationally bargained pay awards have mainly followed Scottish Government pay policy and have been separately funded by the Scottish Government at the outset.
We believe it is important to invest in the sector, including in estates, staff, and resources for students to properly upskill and reskill Scotland's workforce. Investing in staff is investing in students. We believe the report should be counter-balanced with the fact that less investment in staff pay and terms and conditions means driving down the quality of education on offer. Surely that is not a sustainable model. Furthermore, we note the report makes no mention of the pay awards which are not within the remit of national bargaining or, indeed, of the Scottish Government’s pay policy or pay remuneration group i.e. executive leadership teams.
EIS-FELA’s analysis is that the pay packets of some of the sector’s executive leaders has increased by well over 20% in the past ten years whilst lecturers’ pay has, on average, increased by less than 17% in the same period. Indeed, some principals’ pay has increased by over 60% in that period and EIS-FELA has long been critical of the lack of cost/benefit analysis carried out by the governance structures within the sector on expenses, international travel and trade missions. EIS-FELA would also be concerned if some of the £148m earmarked for capital investment went to any of the colleges still paying huge amounts of interest for the NPD contracts on their new build estate.
The details within the report cannot be taken lightly by anyone in the further education sector. EIS-FELA are concerned about what the future of the sector will look like without real-terms cash increases from the government and an end to the competitive tertiary landscape. EIS-FELA believe the 'future operating models' which the SFC are looking at must put the learners and the educators at the core.
We believe the Tertiary Education (Funding and Governance) Scotland Bill, which passed stage 1 debate in Parliament yesterday and is looking likely to cost well over £21million, is a distraction on reorganisation of public bodies when a more serious look under the bonnet of the sector is required.