Sunday, March 01, 2009
More education cuts from Labour and Plaid Cymru
Further to my piece on the impact of education cuts on my local FE colleges, today's Politics Show focuses in on much the same subject and in particular on the cuts in funding for school sixth forms.
As the BBC website reports the teaching unions claim a decision that some schools could lose a quarter of their sixth form budgets may lead to courses and jobs disappearing. From 1 April the Welsh Assembly Government will cut budgets for the education of 16-18-year-olds by 7.4%.
The Minister for Skills says that the cut reflects a tight budget across departments, and says that it will not narrow student choice. However, the Education Department received a 5.5% uplift for next year. Further, teachers' representatives claim that the situation is made worse because once cuts are passed on to schools by local authorities they will not be capped at 7.4%:
Anna Brychan, director of the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru, (NAHT) told Sunday's The Politics Show Wales that some schools were reporting a cut in their post-16 budget of up to 28%.
"That's a huge, unexpected reduction," she said.
"It's not sustainable, it makes the funding system post-16 unstable and inevitably puts jobs at risk."
Brian Lightman, the immediate past president of the Association of School and College Leaders, puts the cuts in context:
"There's never been a time where getting qualifications and staying on in education has been more important, and if we compare the situation in England where they're raising the participation age to 18, you're seeing a situation here where some students may not be able to access precisely those qualifications they're going to need to be competitive in a very very difficult employment market."
Ironically, in the same week as this issue is brought into focus the Welsh Assembly Government is leading a debate in the Senedd that 'welcomes' their 'continuing efforts to alleviate the impact of the recession on Welsh families, businesses and communities.'
As the BBC website reports the teaching unions claim a decision that some schools could lose a quarter of their sixth form budgets may lead to courses and jobs disappearing. From 1 April the Welsh Assembly Government will cut budgets for the education of 16-18-year-olds by 7.4%.
The Minister for Skills says that the cut reflects a tight budget across departments, and says that it will not narrow student choice. However, the Education Department received a 5.5% uplift for next year. Further, teachers' representatives claim that the situation is made worse because once cuts are passed on to schools by local authorities they will not be capped at 7.4%:
Anna Brychan, director of the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru, (NAHT) told Sunday's The Politics Show Wales that some schools were reporting a cut in their post-16 budget of up to 28%.
"That's a huge, unexpected reduction," she said.
"It's not sustainable, it makes the funding system post-16 unstable and inevitably puts jobs at risk."
Brian Lightman, the immediate past president of the Association of School and College Leaders, puts the cuts in context:
"There's never been a time where getting qualifications and staying on in education has been more important, and if we compare the situation in England where they're raising the participation age to 18, you're seeing a situation here where some students may not be able to access precisely those qualifications they're going to need to be competitive in a very very difficult employment market."
Ironically, in the same week as this issue is brought into focus the Welsh Assembly Government is leading a debate in the Senedd that 'welcomes' their 'continuing efforts to alleviate the impact of the recession on Welsh families, businesses and communities.'
