By Alison Campsie

Copyright scotsman

Staff, students, union members and politicians rallied outside the Alloa campus of Forth Valley College against its threatened closure, with a final decision on its future to be taken at a crunch meeting this week. Forth Valley College will decide on Friday whether the Alloa site will remain open to staff and students given its three-campus model is “no longer financially sustainable”. The college, which also has campuses in Falkirk and Stirling, said its financial predicament had been caused by a drop in real-term funding, rising staff costs, higher energy costs and a 10 per cent credit reduction since the 2023/24 session. GMB Scotland, representing workers across Scotland’s colleges, said the the threatened closure of the Alloa campus exposed a “national”crisis” in the funding of the sector. READ MORE: Forth Valley College under threat given financial pressures Keir Greenaway, GMB senior organiser in public services, urged ministers to urgently support colleges to avert potentially catastrophic cuts to courses and jobs. He said: “This is not a looming financial crisis but a financial crisis happening right now, a national emergency demanding emergency action. “Our colleges are the rock the further education sector is built on and equip students with the skills and knowledge needed in a modern, successful country. “If the Scottish Government understands that, it is not obvious. “It is beyond time for ministers to listen to college staff and understand the scale of the threat to our campuses, not only in Alloa but across the sector. “The crucial work of Forth Valley and our other colleges is being sabotaged by needless cuts and uncertainty when it demands respect, recognition and proper funding.” READ MORE: ‘Classist’ SNP would have stepped into save Forth Valley College if it was a university, claim Labour Kenny MacInnes, Principal of Forth Valley College, earlier said months of talks over the future of its campuses had been explored with “multiple possible options” explored. He said the college’s financial position had been driven by flat cash funding, rising staff and maintenance costs and the reduction in credit delivery. Options currently being explored include the sale and leaseback of the building, retaining ownership and leaseback of parts of the building, or selling part or all of the campus. READ MORE: Exclusive: Scotland’s private schools reveal long-term ‘damage’ of Labour’s VAT rise Scottish Labour MPs earlier claimed the Scottish Government would have stepped in to save the at-risk college campus if it were a university, with Euan Stainbank, Chris Kane and Brian Leishman describing the lack of action as “sheer classism”. They claimed that Scottish Government would stepped in to supported it “if it was a university” and highlighted the work of the Alloa Campus in equipping students with technical and vocational skills required by employers, particularly those linked to the industrial transition at Grangemouth. The comments were made after the Scottish Government provided an extra £40 million for Dundee University to tackle a financial crisis that has threatened hundreds of jobs. Colleges Scotland, the collective voice of the sector, has called for “step-change” to college funding at the next budget. It said that real-terms government investment in colleges has fallen by 17 per cent since 2021-22, during a period of soaring inflation, increasing staff costs and higher energy prices with college leaders left facing “often unpalatable” choices. A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Ministers and the Scottish Funding Council are engaging with Forth Valley College to consider the challenges to the Alloa campus.” In this year’s allocations from the Scottish Funding Council, all colleges received a 4.9% increase in funding to support college maintenance in 2025-26. Forth Valley College also received a 2.3% uplift to the College’s resource allocation.