UCU budget comment
24 March 2010
UCU today welcomed announcements in the budget of extra student places in universities and colleges. However, it said high quality education could not be delivered with fewer staff and bigger class sizes.
The union welcomed news of 20,000 additional university places, largely in STEM subjects, but questioned who would be teaching the extra students. The union said £270m additional funding looked like good news, but wouldn't be able to repair the damage that will be done by the £900m cuts previously announced. UCU warned that job losses will be a casualty of the cuts, with many institutions already cutting posts.
In further education, the government announced it was extending the job or training guarantee for 18-24-year-olds to March 2012. UCU welcomed the move, but warned colleges would need proper support to deliver the training the youngsters would require.
UCU said promises of a 2.2% increase above inflation in spending from the government meant little to the education sector. There is already a squeeze on adult education and last week universities were told they faced a real terms funding cut of, on average, 1.8%.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Extra places for students should be a cause for celebration, but with jobs at risk in both universities and colleges we will inevitably see larger class sizes and increased workloads for staff who survive the cull. Anyone who doesn't think this will lead to a drop in the quality of education is sadly misguided.
'Other leading economies, such as France, Germany and America, are investing money in education, yet overall our government seems intent on doing the opposite.'
In further education, the government announced it was extending the job or training guarantee for 18-24-year-olds to March 2012. UCU welcomed the move, but warned colleges would need proper support to deliver the training the youngsters would require.
UCU said promises of a 2.2% increase above inflation in spending from the government meant little to the education sector. There is already a squeeze on adult education and last week universities were told they faced a real terms funding cut of, on average, 1.8%.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Extra places for students should be a cause for celebration, but with jobs at risk in both universities and colleges we will inevitably see larger class sizes and increased workloads for staff who survive the cull. Anyone who doesn't think this will lead to a drop in the quality of education is sadly misguided.
'Other leading economies, such as France, Germany and America, are investing money in education, yet overall our government seems intent on doing the opposite.'
- PrintPrint this page
- Share
Comments