The Association for Colleges (AoC), which represents 336 institutions of various forms of further education (FE), has alarmingly warned that 190,000 adult education places will be cut next year. This is arguably due to a funding cut of 24%. Put bluntly, the AoC have claimed that ‘Adult education and training in England will not exist by 2020 if the government continues with its swathe of cuts.’
In response, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, have claimed that they have ‘prioritised’ areas where ‘most impact can be made’; which accordingly are apprenticeships, traineeships and support for English and maths. Crucially, however, the AoC have highlighted figures which show the uptake of courses such as BTecs and NVQs falling by 18% between 2013 and 2014. These much derided courses actually provide vital skills for employees in a wide range of needed sectors, such as nursing and social work.
Academics, such as Professor Ewart Keep from the University of Oxford, have argued that these cuts will soon reach a tipping point, whereby ‘subsequent recovery could be difficult’. Of course though, in an age of ideology, it’s debatable how much influence the arguments of academics might hold in the ministerial circles. Yet, when we know that due to an ageing population, more and more elderly people are choosing to work well beyond the retirement age, the need for training and education to maintain the workforce is now more important than ever.
“The AoC have highlighted figures which show the uptake of courses such as BTecs and NVQs falling by 18% between 2013 and 2014.”
The arguments for FE, however, go beyond economics; For us in university, far too often the ‘other side’ and alternatives to higher education, are forgotten. Many in our nation may not have had the most promising of circumstances, or opportunities to pursue traditional higher education paths beyond 18. Lola Okolosie, writing in the Guardian, argued powerfully that ‘writing a section of society off because they failed at 16 or 18 is a form of barbarism’.
Her words are especially pertinent in this age of austerity, when social and educational inequality is on the rise and the most vulnerable are always hard hit. In this climate, Okolosie argues, ‘focusing too much on economic benefit when thinking about FE risks dehumanising those who access it’. These adults go to great lengths to secure education, often juggling factors such as childcare, employment and health issues. Too often they are a forgotten class in our society.
“Many in our nation may not have had the most promising of circumstances, or opportunities to pursue traditional higher education paths beyond 18.”
The broader context is one of struggle. The Work Foundation reports that 21% of workers in the UK are low paid. When we live in a society that assesses the benefits of education of any form in terms of economic results alone, cuts to adult education will hit hundreds of thousands of adults materially, socially and mentally. Where is the moral outrage?
Abdul Muktadir
Image by Alamy via telegraph.co.uk
