Don't sack teachers; Don't close courses: Stop the cuts at Hackney Community College

We the undersigned call upon the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning to restore the £2.4 million funding cut from Hackney Community College for 2012/2013.

The cuts threaten the future of community education just as youth unemployment reaches a record high. Hackney young people desperately need investment in education in FE settings. The cuts proposed mean 55 teachers and support staff are to be sacked and courses will be scrapped—ending the study of Art, Access to HE & some skilled construction trades.

Health and social care courses, on which so many rely to get a decently paid job, are being cut. Places for adult students are to be cut by 8% and 16-18 yr olds by 18%. Class sizes will grow, teaching time will be replaced with computer based learning.

We don’t think Hackney deserves a second class education—where only basic “employability” skills are available at the local college. Our community desperately needs real educational choices to combat the poverty of the area. The PCS union says that taxes worth £120,000,000,000,000 are not collected each year, most of it from big companies. We demand you collect those taxes and fund education.

We further call on the college management to halt all redundancies and work with the community to win funding. We pledge our support for staff in the UCU union in strike and other action to defend jobs and courses.