Adult learning under threat in Budget

Further education colleges are calling on the chancellor to protect adult learning in tomorrow’s budget.

A survey by the Association of Colleges found England’s colleges face an average 16% cut in their funding for adults, according to the BBC.

Almost half (43%) of the 162 colleges surveyed said their adult learning budgets were being cut by 25% in the next academic year.

The association said the cuts could cause course closures, leading to shortages of spaces for hundreds of students.

It predicted that the courses affected would include catering, plumbing and bricklaying, as well as basic literacy and numeracy, and A-levels and GCSE courses for adults.

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Association assistant chief executive Julian Gravatt said: “We are calling on the chancellor to protect these courses and the students they serve.

We know the treasury is under significant pressure to further curtail public spending, but cutting courses that are so essential to our recovery is a false economy.”