EXCLUSIVE
BY JAMES ALEXANDRE
A proposed merger between South Kent College and West Kent College could see both the Folkestone and Dover campuses being sold, leading to job losses.
There are fears among staff about possible asset-stripping at SKC sites to pay for an expensive, large-scale rebuild of the West Kent campus in Tonbridge, says a union official.
Bill Fearon, the principal of WKC, has refused to give assurances about the cuts, according to Universities and Colleges Union branch chairman Pat Gorman, instead only stating that there would continue to be “provision” in all three South Kent campuses, which also include Ashford.
Mr Gorman said: “Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see through such evasion.
‘Provision’ means anything Bill Fearon wants it to mean.
“The construction skills centre in Whitfield constitutes provision in Dover, despite only having five students!”
He said that a series of meetings in November last year saw staff polled on their support for the merger, with 133 against and only one in favour.
Mr Gorman also said West Kent’s debt of some £70 million dwarfed SKC’s equivalent borrowings of £4.9m.
A financial plan for the merged college also shows that it could raise £5m by selling off campuses in the three South Kent towns.
He said: “This review proves the fears of SKC staff were well founded – West Kent College intends to sell off SKC sites to pay for their own new-build in Tonbridge, despite the devastating impact on the future of Dover and Folkestone.”
He also claimed SKC governors had been placed “under extreme pressure” by funding body the Learning and Skills Council to agree to merge.
Mr Gorman said South Kent could and should be allowed to stand alone, with the current leadership and management team of Monica Box, Andrew Murdoch and Jackie Watt.
“Monica has the full support of staff at South Kent College,” he said.
“Indeed, staff at SKC are fully aware that changes need to be made and that some rationalisation will happen.
“What they are totally against is the wholesale closure of sites and the impact this will have on education in Folkestone and Dover, not least the hundreds of redundancies that will inevitably follow the closure of the sites.”
Both colleges’ boards voted to approve the merger last month and the application is now before the Minister of State waiting for approval, with the expected completion date being Thursday, April 1.
The new institution will be known as Kent Invicta College.
In a statement released on Monday, Mr Fearon said: “The staff, managers and governors of WKC are very pleased that the colleges have agreed to merge and we are looking forward to the opportunity to meet our SKC colleagues to start to plan the future of Kent Invicta College.
“We have a lot of work to do to ensure a successful launch in September for the 2010/11 academic year.
“It’s going to be a very interesting and exciting challenge for all concerned with West Kent and South Kent colleges.”
POSTED: 10/03/2010 16:30:00
Bookmark with:
Email to a friend: