The number of women undertaking part-time courses at Scottish colleges has fallen by more than 80,000 in six years, new figures have revealed.
In 2007/8, when the SNP came to power at Holyrood, there were nearly 182,000 females studying part-time courses at college. That fell to 101,000 last year.
There was a rise in those studying full-time but the Conservatives claimed the figures “revealed the Scottish Government’s disregard for courses favoured by many mothers and women attempting to balance studying and part-time work.”
Party education spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “This approach discriminates against those who want to change career but cannot afford to revert to being a full-time student.
“And as we can see from these figures, it certainly discriminates against women who want to boost their skills but have other commitments in life such as young children.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Colleges are rightly focussing on delivering full-time courses that deliver the skills and qualifications people need to get a job and develop their careers.
“Women account for the majority of full-time students and all students are being supported with record levels of financial support.”