Female college student numbers slump
● ‘One-size-fits-all education system in need of reform’ argues Davidson
The number of enrolments by women in Scotland’s colleges has almost halved since the SNP came to power, new figures show.
The number of courses that women have registered on has dropped from 274,618 in 2007-8 to 142,738 in 2015-16, down 48 per cent.
Male enrolments in the same period fell from 214,992 to 138,160, down 36 per cent.
The Scottish Funding Council figures also show that the gender gap in engineering is growing, with the number of women enrolled in such courses dropping from 15 per centin 2008-9 to 7.9 per cent last year.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith said: “These figures lay bare the damage the SNP has done to our education system.
“Its swathing cuts to the college sector have seen enrolments plummet, and it’s clear that women are suffering the most. It is totally unacceptable that the number of courses women are enrolling for is now nearly half the level it was when the SNP came to power.
“Despite all the SNP’S rhetoric, there is now a growing gap between men and women taking courses in Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] subjects such as engineering.”
The party is calling on the Scottish Government to support community efforts to promote vocational education to help young people struggling at school.
Party leader Ruth Davidson visited Newlands Junior College in Glasgow yesterday, set up by businessman Jim Mccoll to give vocational training to 14 to 16-year-olds having difficulty at school and the only college of its kind in Scotland. She wants the Scottish Government to work with the private and voluntary sectors, as well as other philanthropists, to set up similar colleges across Scotland.
She said: “After years of under-performance and a stubbornly persistent attainment gap, I believe Scotland’s failed one-sized-fits-all education system needs reform.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Caron Lindsay said “It’s shocking that the SNP have presided over such a dramatic fall in female enrolments.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Women account for the majority of college enrolments – 51 per cent in 2015-16 – and the number of women on full-time courses is up by over 12 per cent since 2006-7.
“The SFC has published a gender action plan which sets out actions they will undertake with the sector and partners to address existing imbalances and significantly reduce gender gaps in college and undergraduate courses.
“We are committed to helping all students realise their potential and remove barriers to pursuing the career that they want. Colleges are also taking steps themselves to open up more Stem subjects to all students, with City of Glasgow College’s engineering allwomen course one example of how traditional job pathways are being challenged and opened up.”