Adult & Community Education cuts

The government's funding priorities for further and adult education which are wreaking havoc in branches in colleges and adult education services across the country. Thousands of adult education courses and hundreds of UCU members' jobs are at risk.

Save adult education video

Following the successful UCU fringe at the 2009 TUC Congress, the union is urging branches to view and discuss the new video, launched at the event, and made by the Liverpool Campaign to Save Adult Further Education (SAFE). The DVD follows a group of UCU members and students to the lobby of parliament earlier this year and then follows up some of their stories that illustrate the part adult education has played in their lives. It is a short video 3mins long and is addressed to the minister. Branches are invited to follow the link to see the DVD - it is an excellent discussion provoking film and it is recommend that branches/LA show the DVD at their next meeting and forward suggestions about how it can be used to further the CALL campaign and the debate around defending adult education.

By the government's own admission, up to 500,000 adult learners risk losing their courses as a result of its new priorities for post-16 education. At the same time, thousands of learners face the prospect of paying large fee increases for their courses. 

Save ESOL: within this context, there is specific concern over the new funding restrictions on English as a Second Language. The changes to the funding means that for many people with ESOL needs, course costs will shift from the public purse to the individual, unless employers make a contribution. Find out more about the Save ESOL campaign here

The national picture

Determined to improve the skills and employability of British people to make this country more internationally competitive, the government has set new national priorities for FE and is targeting funding at very specific groups of learners and courses. They include:

• 16-19 year-olds
• Skills for Life courses (literacy, numeracy and IT) for adults
• Full Level 2 qualifications (equivalent to five GCSEs) for adults without Level 2 qualifications
• Level 2 vocational qualifications for working adults (through the Train to Gain programme)
• Level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A-levels) for 19-25 year olds

The government repeatedly states that nationally the amount of money being spent on further education has risen, but its strict new priorities mean that the total amount available for people aged 19 and over has fallen by 3%.

As a result, further education colleges and locally authority-run adult education services must make some very tough choices about the broad range of courses that they run for adult learners. In particular, many lower level, short and leisure courses which do not lead to recognised national qualifications and are not seen as direct pathways to work, are under threat.

However, these courses are often vital stepping stones for people coming back into education later on in life. They are also often taken by people who want to learn for their own personal and social development. It is widely accepted that such learning has associated mental and physical health benefits, particularly for the elderly.

The funding priorities were first introduced last year and UCU saw course closures and redundancies across the country. As the priorities become more embedded this year, further closures and redundancies are expected from September 2006.

Adult education courses are currently subsidised to the tune of 72.5% meaning learners, or their employers, pay 27.5% of the costs of their learning. But the government has issued fees guidance to colleges instructing them to gradually decrease the level of their subsidy to 50% by 2010 as they believe learners, or their employers, should pay more of the costs of their courses. This new policy is resulting in substantial fee rises. If enrolments fall as a result, fees could increase further still. UCU is concerned such pressure could spell closure for many courses and resulting job losses.

What UCU is doing

Nationally, UCU's objective is to persuade the government to spend more on adult education. We are working with other organisations (AoC, UNISON, ACM, NUS, NIACE, WEA, WI and Age Concern) to achieve this. Locally, we want UCU branches to join forces with other interested groups to lobby local politicians and MPs, and alert the local media to what is happening.

UCU is very concerned that the funding strategy may have a disproportionate negative effect on some minority groups, for example the elderly or the disabled, and is exploring legal avenues to see if it can be challenged on these grounds.

If you are working in further or adult education and are not a member of UCU, click here for information about joining.