Fife will have a new college next year with the announcement that Adam Smith and Carnegie are to merge.
From August 1 they will become a regional Fife college, and the search for a new principal and chief executive officer is already under way.
The announcement was made by the college boards on Wednesday and was accompanied by a pledge the ”super college” which is yet to be named would create the new and not just merge the old.
Tony Jakimciw, who was appointed by the Scottish Government to lead the Fife Regional College Partnership Board, said: ”A lot has been talked about the creation of super colleges. Today’s decision will in effect create a super college for Fife but one with its roots firmly embedded in the communities which the existing organisations support so well.
”The creation of our new college will take longer than the nine months between now and vesting day. There will be one new entity and while services are transformed there will be continuity in the delivery of the courses and learning for existing and new students to enable them to complete their courses.
”Learners applying for courses in the session 2013/14 will be able to apply under the current admissions process that each college has in place.”
In February Education Secretary Mike Russell announced that Scotland’s colleges would be grouped into 12 regions to make the sector ”more efficient”.
Irene Morrison chairs the board of governors at Adam Smith College. She said: ”This is a historic decision that gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the tertiary education provision in Fife by creating a new college that builds on the successes of our excellent colleges.”
Bob Garmory, who chairs the board of management at Carnegie College, said: ”Regionalisation of the sector presents a unique opportunity and decisions made now will create a robust platform for the delivery of tertiary education in Fife and open the door for fresh thinking about the longer term development across the region.”