Government unveils radical shake-up of tertiary sector

The Scottish government has unveiled a radical shake-up of universities and colleges. Education Secretary Mike Russell said he had accepted “virtually all” the recommendations of a review of university governance, which called for elected chairs, quotas for female board members and curbs on the pay of high-earning principals, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.

He also outlined plans for “outcome agreements”, which the government said would “define what it buys for its money” from universities and colleges. The agreements are likely to put pressure on the country’s elite universities to increase the number of students from deprived backgrounds, something Russell said some institutions had been “poor” at. However, critics accused the education secretary of a “power grab”.

Addressing the Scottish parliament last week, Russell also set out further plans to reduce the number of Scotland’s colleges and organise them under 13 regional boards. He said he planned to introduce legislation “at the earliest opportunity” to allow ministers to appoint the chairs of college boards.
Full report on http://Scotsman.com site