UNDER-fire education secretary Michael Russell is set to be handed new powers to hire and fire college boards, it emerged today.
? Opposition parties are calling for plans allowing Education Secretary Mike Russell new powers to hire and fire college boards to be ditched
? Mike Russell criticised after chairman of Stow College board ?forced? to quit following spat with minister after secretly recording a private meeting
? Both Mike Russell and Alex Salmond had to apologise to Parliament on Thursday following misleading statements over college funding
Opposition parties are now calling for the plans to be ditched after Mr Russell found himself at the centre of a political storm last week amid claims of bullying and misleading Parliament.
Stow College board chairman Kirk Ramsay quit after a spat with the SNP minister and the controversy culminated in {Alex Salmond and Mr Russell both being forced to issue embarrassing apologies to Parliament| http://www.scotsman.com/news/snp-forced-into-double-apology-over-incorrect-college-funding-figures-1-263882|Link to artcile} yesterday after misleading statements about college funding.
Ministers currently have powers to remove college board members over mismanagement, but new reforms of the sector will see this power extended to situations where a colleges of regional boards appear at risk of failing.
Labour education spokesman Hugh Henry said today that Parliament must act to stop these changes.
?After Alex Salmond?s apology to parliament was dragged out of him, we now need Mike Russell to apologise to college staff, students, the 20,000 people on college waiting lists and the people of Scotland for the lies he told,? Mr Henry said.
?If Alex Salmond couldn?t do the right thing and sack him, and Mike Russell won?t do the decent thing and resign, we need at least to make sure that the Education Secretary?s power to bully and intimidate is curbed.
?The SNP government has plans to give Mike Russell the power to hire and fire college chairs and board members. That is at the heart of his power to bully and intimidate college leaders and must not happen. The power must be dropped from the SNP?s legislative plans.
?This is an education secretary who either lies, or is so incompetent he doesn?t know if college budgets are going up or being cut. He is manifestly unfit to run Scotland?s schools, colleges and universities.?
Mr Ramsay quit earlier this week after Mr Russell called for his head. The college chair had recorded a private meeting on the future of the college sector on a ?smart pen? and shared this with others. But Mr Ramsay insisted that 80-100 people had been present and denied behaving in a surreptitious manner.
Labour are also calling on the Stewart Maxwell, the SNP convener of Holyrood?s education Committee to u-turn on his refusal to allow an inquiry into Mr Russell?s behaviour.
?Mike Russell clearly is not running education properly and it is the duty of the Scottish parliament to investigate his wrongdoing,? Mr Henry added.
?It is our duty to Scotland?s pupils, students and parents and the SNP cannot block that for party political reasons.
?Salmond and Russell have lost the trust of the Scottish people. We cannot allow them to undermine the trust the people of Scotland have in our parliament.?
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