Campaign launch in defence of adult education

The Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning (CALL) is an alliance founded by five organisations, with 36 others joining since its inception.
 
The five organisations representing students, staff and local communities have come together to highlight the plight of the wide range of highly-valued adult education courses now under threat. Figures show the biggest losses of learners to date have been in information and communication technology (-52.88%), health, public services and care (-49.58%), and agriculture, horticulture and animal care (-36.26%).
 
At today's launch, CALL will highlight that despite the government's ever-increasing focus on vocational training, it has underspent by at least £100m on its own flagship skills programme, Train to Gain. Meanwhile, 'non priority' adult education courses that have survived will have to charge learners 50% of the fees by 2010.
 
CALL says that the government's focus on employer-led courses rather than adult-led initiatives is behind the lost places.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: 'We believe that affordable access to the life-changing opportunities provided by education is the hallmark of a civilised society.'We know that people really value these courses and we know that they are a popular route back to education from the very people the government is trying to encourage to improve their skills. We admire the government's rhetoric on adult learning, but it needs to listen to the experts when it comes to deciding how to fund further and adult education. If it doesn't, it will continue to fail the very people that most need our help.'

Beth Walker, NUS vice president for further education, said: 'Adult education always ends up at the bottom of every government's priority list, despite the enormous benefits it can bring about for mature students and society at large. I am proud that NUS is a founding member of CALL, and the massive support this campaign is gathering from across the education sector and beyond shows that there are plenty of individuals and organisations out there ready to defend and extend adult students' right to learn.

'Today is the first day of a long term campaign, and we won't stop until adult education is properly funded and open to all regardless of age or background. I urge anyone interested in the campaign to get involved, organise a local campaign group and join us at the lobby of parliament in February.'
 
Paul Mackney, NIACE Associate Director (FE) said: 'CALL has brought together over 40 organisations into a movement committed to ending the educational vandalism of 1.5 million lost adult education course places.  We now have the biggest combined movement for lifelong learning that the UK has ever seen with support from educational organisations, trade unions, the Women's Institutes and support groups for Disabled people, refugees and pensioners. Such a movement will surely persuade the Government to develop lifelong learning for all.'
 
Christina McAnea, UNISON head of education, said: 'Adult learning is often the life-changing, crucial first step in getting people back into work. UNISON is proud to be a founding member of CALL, as a trade union we are committed to working to protect adults' right to learn. This campaign will help make sure that adults have access to a wide range of learning opportunities.'

Richard Bolsin, general secretary of the Workers' Educational Association, said: 'We believe that adult learning, formal or otherwise, is invaluable to individuals, to families and to society. It's not just the studying but so much more. It gives purpose to people's lives and contributes to their health and wellbeing. These are things that sustain communities.

'We at the WEA are concerned about the funding of provision and access for learners who want to learn. We met our funding targets last year, but the funding for this year has been held at last year's prices which, for us, equates to a reduction of around 3,500 potential learners – people who would benefit from adult learning on a WEA course and who we could reach, but who will miss out.'
 
CALL's six founding principles are:

• access to high-quality education for all learners (regardless of class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, asylum status or employment status), including a statutory right to learning in the workplace
• universal access to basic skills, English for speakers of other languages, computer courses and first level 3 (A-level-equivalent) qualification regardless of age
• learner, teacher and community involvement in all levels of decision-making about their learning wherever it takes place
• learning for personal wellbeing and development and the maintenance of local authority adult education
• a path out of poverty and disadvantage including widening participation in higher education and the provision of a second chance later in life
• building a stable, motivated and rewarded workforce of professional practitioners.