Are Huge Budgets Cuts Going To Cause Teacher Strikes?
After the government in England announced large budget cuts for this coming year, teaching unions and associations have suggested strikes are possible. Many are outraged at the move by the government and have threatened to strike for indefinite durations.
The drop in funding came after a record number of students decided to apply for higher education programs, far more than the goverment predicted. Instead of being happy that more teenagers are choosing to continue at college or sixth-form, the authorities have stated their will be a £200m gap in finance provisions. This will likely put the future of as many as 50,000 young adults in jeopardy, lead to a drop in school bursaries, and will mean that many will have to look for paid work instead. Given that we are in a time of very low employment levels, this point is something many in the sector are deeply concerned about.
The National Union of Teachers have lashed out at the news of the drop in funding, stating that it is “utterly disgraceful”. A ‘lost generation’ is what they think will be the result of this, simular to the situation with school leavers in the 1980′s. “This would not happen in independent or scholarships private schools and should not happen in the state system” they said. The cut was caused by an inaccurate estimation on the number of students who would apply for colleges, sixth forms or pay-in-training courses. Educational facilities have thus received an average of 4% less funding this year and will have to bridge this gap by dropping some courses and even teaching jobs.The NUT annual conference in Wales is where the issue was first addressed and lots of speakers voted for strikes at the educational institutions that were affected
Ed Balls, Schools Sectary has stated that the government acknowledges their is a problem here and that schools face some tough decisions. He blames the rise in young people wanting to further their education on the recession causing a lack of job opportunities. He has made the point that due to the recession, their are not as many job opportunities out their for school leavers and so many are deciding to stay on