Kilwinning’s James Watt campus is to be merged with Paisley’s Reid Kerr College after a controversial shake-up by the Scottish Government.

The announcement was made by Education Secretary Michael Russell, who said that the country’s colleges are to work together within regions – meaning that the Kilwinning campus will join the Ayrshire region, working with Ayr and Kilmarnock colleges.

The idea is that colleges will work more collaboratively within 12 regions, allowing them to plan regionally and deliver locally.

Defending the decision to merge the local campus with Reid Kerr, Mr Russell said: “Kilwinning is geographically in Ayrshire and 95% of students attending the campus are from the region.

"In practice it makes sense for Kilwinning to be one of the three main campuses of an Ayrshire regional college; however we don’t believe this can be done in the short term as James Watt College is currently holding merger talks with Clydebank and Reid Kerr colleges.

“We would want Kilwinning to look at its curriculum particularly in light of the new capital build in Kilmarnock to ensure the two campuses provide coherent provision and do not unnecessarily duplicate provision or facilities.”

In a statement to Parliament, Mr Russell also welcomed reports on the governance of higher and further education and gave a commitment to taking the recommendations forward in consultation with the sectors.

“Our system of post-16 education serves young people in Scotland well.

“Our colleges and universities do a good job of equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need for the workplace.

“However that doesn’t mean we are complacent, we need to make sure our system is the best it can be.

“I believe developing a regional basis for colleges will make the sector more efficient and responsive to the needs of students and local economies.

“This approach was proposed in two Scottish Government consultations last year and regionalisation has been strongly supported by the college sector and others in their responses.

“We will now work with the sector and the Scottish Funding Council to put these new arrangements in practice.

“I am also pleased to publish the reviews carried out by Professor Griggs and Professor von Prondzynski into further and higher education governance.

“There is much in both of these reports that makes sense and I believe they can help develop the way our institutions are managed.

“I plan to take the recommendations of these reviews forward in discussion and consultation with the further and higher education sectors, as we reform post-16 education and put learners at the centre of our education system.”

The college regions will be:

• Highlands and Islands – will include Perth, Lews Castle, Orkney, Shetland, Inverness, Moray, North Highland, Argyll, and West Highland Colleges Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire – will comprise Aberdeen, and Banff and Buchan Colleges
• Fife – where we will see Fife, Adam Smith, and Carnegie Colleges, and the non land-based provision at Elmwood College
• Tayside, of which Dundee and Angus Colleges will form part
• Glasgow – a single region comprising Anniesland, North Glasgow, Stow, John Wheatley, Cardonald, Langside, City of Glasgow
• West - Reid Kerr and Clydebank Colleges, and the Inverclyde campus of James Watt College
• Ayrshire – will include Ayr, Kilmarnock, and the Kilwinning campus of James Watt
• College Dumfries and Galloway – comprising Dumfries and Galloway College
• Borders – comprising Borders College Lanarkshire – will comprise Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Motherwell, and South Lanarkshire Colleges
• Edinburgh and Lothians - Jewel and Esk, Stevenson, Telford and possibly West Lothian Colleges Central – Forth Valley and possibly West Lothian

The Higher Education Governance Review by Professor von Prondzynski contains recommendations including:

• the Scottish Parliament should enact a statute for Scotland’s higher education sector setting out the key principles of governance and management
• a Scottish Higher Education Forum should be established, convened by the Scottish Funding Council and chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
• the chair of the governing body should be elected, thus reflecting the democratic ideal of Scottish higher education electing chairs of court (recommended by a majority, one member dissenting)

The Further Education Governance Review by Professor Griggs contains recommendations including:

• a move to a regional structure of colleges and a set of proposals for regional governance
• the removal of a  rule debarring people over 70 from being appointed to the governing body of a college
• the Scottish Government establishes its own leadership and strategic guidance of the sector through the creation of a new FE Strategic Forum

What are your views on the merging of the Kilwinning campus with Reid Kerr? Is it a good or a bad thing? Let us know here at s1kilwinning.