Cuts in Education Funding

The affects of a recession are numerous and can take its toll in many forms often hitting the most vulnerable within society.

As the Labour Government struggle to take control of the recession and its long-term affect, harsh decisions have to be made but some are just unacceptable!

It is with dismay that I learned of the plans of Lord Mandelson’s department – the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. These plans will see budgets slashed for courses aimed at both people with learning difficulties and evening classes for the elderly. Instead funds will be directed towards re-training opportunities for people hit by the recession.

Now please don’t get me wrong, I fully support our need to re-train people where appropriate but not at the expense of others.

It was not a shock to see that these plans were published quietly and without fanfare as the affect they have will be extremely detrimental to those people seeking qualification-free courses which are most commonly people with learning difficulties and the elderly. The budget cut of £150m in reality will see the student numbers shrink from 583,000 this year to only 213,000 next.

Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, told the Guardian: "These plans will come as a bitter blow to the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people who will see their courses disappear. It is incredibly cynical of the government to slip this news out in an obscure policy document and not be upfront about the impact that these cuts will have.

"While it is vital that we take a strategic approach to skills, it is absurd to stop funding courses which bring a range of benefits to individuals and wider society. Not only are they important in keeping people active but they can also work as an important stepping stone back into education for those who may have had a poor experience at school."

Lord Mandelson’s department have tried to divert criticism by saying that priority will be given to courses for people with learning difficulties but many within the disability rights arena see this as a continuation of previous longer term cuts in dedicated courses. I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with them!

David Congdon, Head of Policy at the charity Mencap, said: "We have strong evidence that courses are already being cut. If they reduce the funding further, it will have a devastating impact. These courses are vital to people's quality of life and if they are cut we are doing them a great disservice."

It is imperative that learning opportunities are maintained and, indeed, increased for all disabled people particularly in view of the Labour Government’s aim to reduce the number of claimants of incapacity benefit. Many disabled people already find it a big enough challenge to find employment opportunities so to reduce any form of educational funding will only hinder that process.