Defend education in face of cuts UCU president-elect will tell NUT conference

The lecturer from Oxford and Cherwell Valley College will say that the country needs more educators, not fewer, and that members from both unions must defend the rights of British people to a decent education from cradle to grave.
 
Speaking on the opening day of the conference in Liverpool, Alan Whitaker will say: 'Between us, we now represent close to half a million educators, covering all aspects of education, literally from cradle to grave. We can be truly proud of the work we do in transforming both individuals and society.'
 
Looking at the current funding crisis across the education sector, and ahead to the general election, Whitaker will warn that: 'We are still in the midst of the worst recession in living memory which is destroying jobs and communities. And education, whatever any political party tells us, is far from immune from its effects.'
 
However, he will say that delegates must not just sit back and accept the cuts: 'The cuts are absolutely shocking when we are all being told that education is at the heart of economic recovery. The choice is simple. Do we just duck our heads and stay silent hoping the problems will go away? Or do we make the case for a publicly-funded education system that maintains quality and increases access for those who have not previously benefited?'
 
He will conclude that: 'When education should be central to pulling our country out of recession, all parties are saying they will cut. We, along with you, believe in a publicly-funded, accessible education system. What we need now are more educators, not fewer. We cannot allow our members to be thrown on the scrapheap because of other people's greed.
 
'Together, our unions must defend jobs, defend education and defend the rights of British people to a decent education system from cradle to grave.'