5/13/2008 8:40:00 AM
Peter Kingston ;The Guardian 13 May
The cut in funding for adult education has affected all socio-economic groups, but worst hit are manual workers. Peter Kingston reports So, it was not a blip. Last year's slight downturn in the numbers of adults doing some sort of learning can now be seen as the start of a more serious slide. The 1 percentage point dip from the previous year's total was described as "well within the margin of error" by Alan Tuckett, director of Niace (the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education), when he produced its 2007 annual survey charting participation in adult learning. This year's survey - out today - shows a drop of a further three points, which is a "statistically significant" shift, he says. It looks more like the start of an avalanche. The official records published by the Learning and Skills Council make clear that in the two years after the government withdrew funding, 1.4 million people left publicly funded adult education. Ministers declare that the money at their disposal is better used in boosting the numbers of adults with level 2 qualifications (the equivalent of five GCSEs) even if many of them are not learning new skills but having their existing capabilities assessed and certificated. There were hopes in Whitehall that the 1.4 million would not abandon their learning but find alternative sources. It is now clear that not all of them by any means have managed this.Guardian
FE/HE/ Skills
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