The EDP reports that Adult Education fees are set to rise by 20% next year, with a resulting possible fall in uptake of these courses by 2000 people next year. For me, this is a really easy target for the Tories to attack, but also the wrong target given the current economic climate.
In difficult economic times, people ought to be encouraged to retrain, get better qualified, and be better equipped for the upturn. Sadly, cost is a very important factor in whether people will take up adult education classes, and this will inevitably put people off.
I myself did my A levels at evening class, so I know the value of being able to do evening classes. Whilst the report talks about the sort of activities which are less academic being hit, this is the thin end of the wedge.
We shouldn't be surprised though that the Tories are cutting classes like this rather than the very generous expenses system at County Hall. After all, it was the Tories who only a few years ago put the entertainment budget for the council up by about £100,000 a year ! How many classes would that pay for ?
4 comments:
OK, so if it's kept, who pays for it?
Hard times in Old England.
"really easy target"...which ones aren't? Sparing a few pottery classes and charging more for latin dancing seems bloody obvious compared to cutting the school education budget. Or would you prefer that?
It is an easy target, impossible to deny and possibly the thin edge of the wedge for more academic programmes. I guess they are happy for those that can afford to pay more, to sudsidise the training skills projects offered to the unemployed.
Coalition to slash funding for Teaching Assistants
But with the Tories glee for cuts no doubt You will get to vote for who you sack first
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