Situation A Massive Blow For Newport Claims Wales Green Party Leader
COLEG Gwent is set to lose 6,000 students because of the cuts, a teaching union said today. The University and College Union announced that the Further Education college would provide 50,000 fewer teaching hours as a direct result of the cuts. Around 60 lecturers face redundancy plus 70 support staff including technicians and caretakers, the union added.
The news was greeted by Wales Green Party leader Pippa Bartolotti with dismay:
“I feel that the heart is being slowly drawn out of Newport, and that this is a massive blow for the city. The loss of 6000 students to Coleg Gwent makes an enormous hole in our capacity to deliver lifelong learning. Changing work demands opportunities to reskill and learn anew. Cutting further education and adult education in this way is quite literally pulling the rug from under our feet.”
“The Welsh Government is happy enough to carry out Westminster dirty work, and let us not forget that these cuts are being made because the coalition does not want to raise funds through a Financial Transaction tax or a Wealth Tax. The privileged in society will always get the education they need. The rest of us are being cheated at every turn.”
“Greens stand for lifelong learning and the scrapping of tuition fees. How can we not afford to educate our young people. How can we not afford to upskill our more mature learners as the pace of change in the workplace increases. Cutting teaching hours at Coleg Gwent is a false economy. If we want to see more people in work, we must make sure they have the skills, otherwise what is saved in teaching hours will be spent on the welfare bill."
The news from Coleg Gwent appears to be part of a much wider and depressing picture of cutbacks within the Welsh education system.
Green candidate for Brecon & Radnorshire, Chris Carmichael, has also spoken out against the proposed cuts for schools in Powys. Responding to Powys County Council’s ‘radical overhaul’ of secondary education in Powys, which would result in the closure of Gwernyfed school, Chris said:
“We must stand up against yet another austerity led decision which will impact on the lives of our communities. This decision is purely financial, and does not take into account what is best for our children.”
The Greens are the only party calling for an immediate end to austerity-led economics and a rebalancing of the economy so that it works for the common good. In Wales, Greens would encourage rural authorities to protect small schools and develop them as community resources.