By Neil Merrick
Teachers are threatening strike action over cuts in sixth-form funding while schools and colleges are hoping the Budget will give them more cash for educating 16 to 19-year-olds.
Teachers are threatening strike action over cuts in sixth-form funding while schools and colleges are hoping the Budget will give them more cash for educating 16 to 19-year-olds.At the National Union of Teachers conference in Cardiff on April 14, delegates passed an emergency motion for collective action, up to and including strikes. The union claims the cuts could leave many youngsters without places on A-level and new diploma courses from September.
But the Association of Colleges and the Association of School and College Leaders are advising their members to hold fire until after the Budget on April 22 to see if the government finds a way to plug the gap.
Earlier this month, schools minister Jim Knight said cross-departmental discussions were continuing over ways to support the higher-than-expected number of learners enrolling on courses. A further announcement would be made in late April.
Martin Doel, chief executive of the AoC, said the increase in students should have been anticipated during a recession. ‘We find some comfort in recent comments by government, but we wait to see how this pans out on April 22,’ he added.
Norman Crowther, national official for post-16 education at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the funding cuts and problems surrounding the capital programme for colleges had called into question how the government sees further education. ‘It’s making us look like a Cinderella sector once again,’ he told Public Finance.
Colleges and schools with sixth forms are still reeling after the Learning and Skills Council bungled an announcement over how much they will receive to teach
16 to 19 year-olds in 2009/10. The LSC revised its March 2 provisional allocations, leading to estimated cuts of £200m. In the case of schools, the LSC’s first funding letter incorrectly said that the initial allocations were final, not provisional.
