After the government in England announced large budget cuts for this coming year, teaching unions and associations have suggested strikes are possible. A great many people are angry with the government’s approach and have proposed strike action in retaliation.
The drop in funding came after a record number of students decided to apply for higher education programs, far more than the goverment predicted. Rather than celebrate the increasing desire of students to stay on a school or college, Labour have announced that there will be a £200m shortfall in funding this year. This will likely put the future of as many as 50,000 young adults in jeopardy, lead to a decrease for school bursaries, and will mean that many will have to look for paid work instead. This is what is concerning lots of people in the sector, especially given the weak job market currently.
The National Union of Teachers have spoken out and called the cuts “an absolute disgrace”. They say that it is completely irresponsible to do such as thing and will just lead to another ‘lost generation’ much the same as the school leavers in the 1980s. “This would not happen in independent or bording schools and should not happen in the state system” they said. The cut came about from a miscalculation over the percentage of students staying in sixth-forms, colleges and further training courses. Institutions have thus been given less money than they had expected to receive (estimated around 4%) and so will probably have to make up the deficit by cutting courses and possibly teaching jobs.The annual NUT conference in Cardiff saw the first suggestions of strike action when speakers voted to take a stand at the schools and colleges in question
The Schools Secretary, Ed Balls has admitted that schools do face a very real problem currently in terms of providing funding for those who wish to continue education. He blames the rise in young people wanting to further their education on the recession causing a lack of job opportunities. He has made the point that due to the recession, their are not as many job opportunities out their for school leavers and so many are deciding to stay on
