14 March 2006

Adult Education Funding Campaign

Adult Education - Fund the Future

The cuts that hit adult education last year look set to deepen come September. The budget for adult education in England for the academic year of 2006/7 has been cut by 4%. The government has estimated that this will mean a loss of around 500,000 places on courses for adults. See background document.

Big Conversations on Adult Learning

NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) is planning a series of 'Big Conversations' around the future of adult learning following the FE White Paper. NIACE is encouraging its members to organise discussions, debates and events starting in Adult Learners Week (22 to 26 May) around this theme. NATFHE is joining NIACE in this and is encouraging branches affected by cuts in adult learning to work with NIACE to organise these Big Conversation events.

Branches and individual members can bring a NATFHE perspective to these Big Conversations and link with others fighting the adult learning cuts. A NATFHE briefing on the White Paper is being prepared for dispatch to branches after Easter.

Places at NIACE's Big Conversation events are free, but strictly limited. For more information contact [email protected].

See NIACE initial response to white paper

Cuts across the country

Further education colleges and adult education services across the country have just received their initial funding allocations for next year and individual reports coming in to NATFHE make for depressing reading.

At Hackney College, NATFHE has learnt that budget cuts falling largely in adult education will mean that the equivalent of 41 full-time teaching jobs are to be axed.
In Liverpool, the adult education service faces a £1.6m cut. A whopping 6,000 learner places are set to vanish and approximately 120 jobs could go.

See
What else is happening around the country
Vulnerable students to lose out as 25% of basic skills courses axed

NATFHE Action

NATFHE is now seeking information about cuts in colleges and local education authority services in 2006/7.

We need this information to raise awareness of this issue in the media and with politicians. We are also able to advise branches on how best to fight the cuts.

NATFHE’s longer term aim is to influence the next comprehensive spending review which will set the budget for learning and skills from 2008/9. Work will begin on that CSR in autumn 2006 and it will be announced in the summer of 2007.

Tell NATFHE about the cuts to adult education at your workplace by filling out the Adult Learning Cuts Survey 2006/7.

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