Colleges in Dumfries and Galloway and Edinburgh are the first to receive additional funding to deliver reforms, with around £1.7 million being invested to secure greater efficiency in their regions.
£197,000 will go towards Dumfries and Galloway College to support better links with schools in the area. The £1.5 million for Edinburgh will help to support restructuring costs as the capital’s colleges develop their merger proposal.
Speaking in Dumfries, Education Secretary Mr Russell said:
“As we move towards implementing college regionalisation, I have been listening carefully to colleges about the support they need to implement our reforms.
“Moving to a regional structure creates an opportunity to do things better and to remove duplication and inefficiency within the sector. Colleges recognise this, and this additional funding will allow them to make efficiency savings in the longer term – all to the benefit of learners and employers.
“The £15 million College Transformational Funding will lay the foundations for college regionalisation. The bid from Dumfries and Galloway College is an excellent example of an innovative approach, joining up post 16 education for the region.
“The Edinburgh colleges have signalled their intention to work together from a very early stage and now they are moving towards merger. This substantial investment will help that process.
“The college sector is responding to the move to a regionalised structure, and we are backing their commitment to adapt and become more efficient through the College Transformational Fund. Further bids for funding have been received from regions around the country and will be considered shortly.”