FORTH VALLEY COLLEGE  is considering selling off a campus due to what its principal has termed an “incredibly difficult” financial situation.

The college, which employs 600 workers at 12,000 sites in Falkirk, Stirling and Alloa, is the latest in Scotland to find itself in a cash crisis, after years of real-terms funding cuts have caused widespread redundancies across the sector.

Options under consideration focus on the Alloa campus, including the sale of the site in whole or in part as well as the possibility of leasing back some buildings afterwards.

Principal Kenny MacInnes said: “The college’s current financial position, driven by continued flat-cash funding, rising staff and maintenance costs and a reduction in credit delivery, has left us with no choice but to explore a range of options.

“These steps are being taken to safeguard the long-term financial sustainability of the entire college.”

GMB Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway warned that the proposals highlighted the Scottish government’s failure to invest in further education.

He said that the college “insists a decision will be taken within weeks, but there has been no genuine consultation or serious engagement with staff and there won’t be until unions are invited to sit down for urgent and detailed talks with management.

“Anything less than full involvement in this consultative process will be a slap in the face for a skilled and committed workforce plunged into uncertainty by this announcement.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “As colleges operate independently of government, it is for them to decide on operational matters such as their campus footprint. 

“Ministers have been in communication with the college and would be happy to engage further on the challenges they are facing.”