The number of students in Scotland’s colleges has fallen by 140,000 since the SNP came to power, figures released today have shown. The Scottish Funding Council statistics revealed the 37 per cent fall since 2007/8. At that point 379,233 full-time and part-time students took up a college place, but that dropped last year to only 238,805. Part-time students have been hit particularly hard by SNP policies on college education, with the number falling by 196,000 in the space of just six years. The drop came as Scotland’s education secretary dismissed many crucial part-time vocations as “hobby courses”, while slashing the colleges budget by £34 million. Female enrolments have plummeted by 43 per cent since 2007/8, while the number of lecturers has dropped by a fifth. Last year alone, the overall number of students in Scotland’s colleges decreased by more than 19,000. Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife said: “These damning figures show just how committed the SNP is to college education. “Its disgraceful rhetoric about the sector, and its attitude towards it, have been matched by the statistics published here. “The decision to slash the college budget was wrong, and the impact of it can be seen in the numbers of those winning a place to study there. “At a time when employers are complaining about the quality of candidate emerging from schools, it is completely illogical to squeeze colleges. “College offers endless opportunities for people from all backgrounds, and it is those opportunities the SNP are stamping out.”