Last night, over sixty people met at Swinton Royal British Legion to hear horror stories of the possible impact of cuts being proposed by Salford City College which include the withdrawal of mentoring and support services for young people who need help with studies...
"Without this sort of support I'm going to go back nine years ago with `feral kids' running around the estates" said Graham Cooper a youth worker with Oliver's Youth Club and the Broughton Trust "This College has become an alternative to that...We're already the fourth highest NEET (Not In Education, Employment or Training) city in the country and it's going to be the first if these proposals go through. We've got a perfect storm brewing at the moment..."
Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey explained that "If you cut services for youth and adult learners it's going to have a detrimental impact on Salford's economy as a whole in the long run cuts in education are going to lead to cuts in living standards down the line..."
As well as cuts to mentoring and support services, Salford College's Business Transformation Plan includes the loss of 57 jobs, selling land at its Walkden centre, expanding e-learning (possibly at the expense of qualified teachers), charging students £20 just to register and only providing A Level courses at Pendleton College.
Speakers at the meeting, who included teachers, students, youth workers, councillors, trade unionists and youth mentors, told how each proposal would have a detrimental impact on young people's learning, ranging from transport issues of travelling across the city to how e-learning just doesn't work...
"I have not met a single member of staff or student who thinks that the proposals are good for the college or the city" said Paul Rossington of the National Union of Teachers "I've not been listened to these past few months when I've talked about issues to do with social exclusion, I think we're heading towards complete disaster. Last Friday in an answer to a question about e-learning, the Chief Executive was talking about making the college more marketable. That to me is gobbledygook they should be investing in young people not a room full of flash Macs. They're not thinking about the needs of young people in this city."
The meeting heard how the College, which is dealing with cuts from the Tory Government, has shed four jobs in its IT department, while advertising for an £80,000 director of e-learning and IT...How it's spending over £1million on expanding e-learning...and how it has £6million in bank reserves.
John Rossington added that the staff needed the support of the community, particularly during a possible ballot of his members for industrial action over the cuts. Indeed the whole theme of the evening was that the community needed to get on board the campaign to Save Salford College and that the College itself needs to listen to the community's views.
"I know we can't wave a magic wand and expect the Government to give us more money for further education because they won't" explained Rebecca Long-Bailey "But we do expect to be involved in the discussion, and we expect to be able to put our ideas forward and have them heard and realised. We need a more open and transparent consultation."
Her sentiments were echoed by Steven North, Salford City UNISON branch secretary, who added... "We want a community consultation. If the College isn't prepared to do that then, to me, it isn't serious about delivering a solution in the interests of the people of Salford - it's only interested in delivering what a handful of people on the College's executive see as a solution. That isn't good enough and we can't accept that."
Those present at the meeting voted to demand that "Salford City College should suspend the implementation of the Business Transformation Plan (and any job losses arising from it) until a community consultation of at least three months has taken place. This should involve open forums and access to information necessary for representatives of different stakeholder groups to develop and present properly thought out counter-proposals..."
A letter has now been sent to Jackie Flynn, Chair of Governors at Salford City College, outlining the demands - and campaigners are awaiting an answer...
* Salford College cuts and the public meeting were discussed on the Sounds of Salford Radio last night - listen by clicking here
Main photo: Graham Cooper of Oliver's Youth Club and the Broughton Trust
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