A troubled Lanarkshire college has again come under scrutiny at the Scottish Parliament yesterday, with calls for a "light to be shone" on "serious issues" and whistleblowers' claims of “bullying, intimidation, harassment, theft and fraud".
At First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, Central Scotland MSP Graham Simpson asked Nicola Sturgeon to order an investigation into concerns over the running of South Lanarkshire College (SLC), as an independent audit revealed students' 'outcomes' and the delivery of high quality learning to be in jeopardy as a result of operational shortcomings at board level.
Telling the chamber that auditors could not conclude that governance at SLC was satisfactory over the last year, the Conservative MSP aired suspicions that principal Aileen McKechnie - who was dramatically suspended more than four months ago, along with interim clerk to the board, Brian Keenan - had been "ruffling feathers" when she called in external forensic investigators to probe concerns over alleged misconduct within the institution’s ranks.
