Labour's redundancy present to Education

REDUNDANCY IS CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM WELSH COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE AT NORTHOP.

Antoinette Sandbach took William Graham AM the Shadow Education Minister for the Conservatives on Friday to met with Dennis Smith vice principal to discuss funding cuts at Northop Horticultural College. Staff and students were recently shocked by news that the Welsh Assembly Government were cutting the budget given to the college by £334,000. Antoinette commenting on the proposed cuts said “It is tragic that staff at Northop College are facing such massive cuts. Not only will their families suffer but students at the College are loosing dedicated teachers which can only mean a cut in the quality of education provided – this is the real life reality of Labour’s Education policies.”

John Bell, one of the Lecturers at the college, who is directly affected by the job cuts said:

“It is both ironic and sad that, during the recent Estyn inspection, the Learning Development Department most affected by these cuts, received a grade one rating for the superb work it does across the college and in the workplace raising literacy and numeracy levels among the very people that governments and industry are complaining, lack them.”

Ultimately, of course, it is the students who will be most affected by the reductions in their support. There has been noticeable silence from Sandy Mewies AM, at present Labour is facing its budget being voted down in the Assembly on Wednesday because of their failure to agree on education spending. Welsh Conservatives have been calling for greater funding for education, with calls for forced efficiency savings of 1% to be returned to schools and colleges so they can spend them improving education for their students. Labour are pressing ahead with the proposed cuts. William Graham listened as College staff outlined the impact of the budget cuts and heard confirmation that the only option for the college was to reduce staffing levels. 18 staff are under threat of redundancy, and the College anticipates year on year cuts from the Assembly budget as current forecasts indicate that grant will not keep up with the rate of inflation. The real scandal is the delay Labour ministers have taken announcing the spending cuts for this year. Although the budget should have been finalized in April the College Governors and Staff were only told about the cuts at the end of October, which means staff will face a bleak Christmas – with the prospect of looking for new jobs halfway through the academic year.