Fife College suspends all face to face teaching

The steps were confirmed by the college in a bid to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading.

It had already confirmed all campuses – including St Brycedale in Kirkcaldy, plus Glenrothes and Dunfermline – would close temporarily from 6:00pm on Friday.

Now the college has announced that all face to face teaching will cease for the foreseeable future from 9:00pm today.

Campuses will remain open until Friday to ensure students have access to any further advice and resources needed before the transition to remote working.

The measures come after a week of talks at the top level to look at how colleges across Scotland could minimise the impact of coronavirus.

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “The college sector recognises that this is a fast-moving and unprecedented situation and that the overarching priority is the health and safety of its staff and students. We are continuing to closely monitor the latest guidance from public health bodies and the Scottish and UK governments, and working on resilience and business continuity planning to take measured and appropriate precautions to minimise the impact of COVID-19.

“Colleges are planning for a phased reduction of face-to-face learning over the coming days and weeks and to expand online and remote learning, where feasible. Colleges will continue to disseminate information specifically tailored for their own institutions to their staff and students.

“The college sector is well known for its diversity and so this measured, carefully managed, and phased approach will be done flexibly with each institution acting according to their own specific circumstances in their regions and campuses. Staff and student requirements will be at the forefront of their approach. “