Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Oppose Savage Cuts in Adult Education Funding!

Terry Clarke | 28.03.2006 16:08 | Education | Indymedia | Social Struggles | Liverpool | World

Adult Education, in all it's forms, is the engine of Regeneration and Culture. Rather than agreeing with the Government cuts by remaining silent, we must all strive to preserve it and promote wider participation.

The Government is enforcing savage cuts to the funding of vitally important sections of Adult Education across the Country. They are diverting massive amounts of funds from so called 'Personal Development' courses to 'Vocational' courses, primarily aimed at the under twenty fives, many of whom have left the secondary education system without the ability to fill in a job application form.

Liverpool City Council is cutting 1.5 million pounds from the Adult Learning Service budget at the worst possible time considering our standing as Capital of Culture 2008. Learning Centres will be closed, 100 teachers will lose their jobs and in consequence thousands of students will be deprived of a place. Cuts will take effect from September 2006.

I have received over ninety letters from students expressing their shock, dismay, disappointment and horror of news of the cuts. One student says: 'Having moved to this City ten years ago, I felt an extreme pride to be part of such a wonderful, vibrant place, soon to be the Capital of Culture. Unfortunately however, we are seeing so much money wasted to entice others to our City that the Council are forgetting the real reason why this community is so special.....'. As you can imagine I have many more such quotes.

It is my opinion that Adult Education currently does more than securing the economic future of our City; it has a much wider role. It is the engine that creates a cultured and civilised society, develops the spiritual side of our lives, supports our health and promotes active citizenship throughout our lives. Adult Learning enables us to play a full part in our community, to remain productive and give our lives meaning.

It helps us fulfil our potential, gives us a second chance (in many cases the only chance) to improve our lives and opens doors to a love of music, art, languages, history and literature.

It provides a stepping stone for many of us, (myself included), to gain the confidence to aspire to higher forms of education. It strengthens the family unit, the neighbourhood and consequently the City as a whole. This is why we should all value LEARNING FOR ITS OWN SAKE and the benefits it brings.

As well as providing funding for employers to have an educated workforce we should have an obligation to provide sufficient funding for Adult Learning as a whole. Adult Learning should be something which is enjoyed to its full potential and taken advantage of by people of any age, income or ability. We don’t want an Adult Education system in our City that will only meet the needs of employers and those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford tuition fees.

The Council says that the problem starts with Government funding and calls them the 'culprits'. That's true - and this doesn't only apply to Liverpool, but I say that the Councillors must take action and ensure that their Council make it a high priority within it's own budget to preserve opportunities for local people.

I call on everyone who is in, or has benefited from Adult Education in the past, (including City Councillors), to make their views known and do everything within their power to preserve and promote wider participation in this essential amenity.

If Adult Learning is reduced then so is the culture of our City.

Terry Clarke
- e-mail: tclarkells@yahoo.co.uk

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech