Low funding for Colleges - Signatures needed!

The ESB recently sent a letter to Philip Hammond and Damian Hinds on behalf of Essex Colleges in relation to the low levels of funding they receive compared to schools and universities and how this is making it increasingly difficult for them to compete.

Alison Andreas (FEDEC Chair) also attended a rally in London on Wednesday, with staff, student and colleagues; and has a meeting arranged in parliament with local MPs.

As part of College Week, we would welcome your ongoing support and encourage you to sign the partition outlined below. Please also share with any colleagues who could add their name to the signatures.

It's Colleges Week!

This week is ‘Colleges Week’ -  an opportunity to celebrate the great work of Colleges up and down the country, but also to highlight to the government, our significant concern about funding for students aged 16 and over. 

A recent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that spending per student in further education has fallen by eight per cent in real terms since 2009 and the adult learning budget has fallen by 45 per cent in the same period; further notes that over a million adult learners have been lost from colleges in that same period, representing a huge loss of opportunity.

A national campaign has been set up to raise the issue and I urge you to get involved. 

There is trending Twitter hashtag for #LoveOurColleges!  Additionally a petition calling on the government to “to urgently increase college funding to sustainable levels, including immediate parity with recently announced increases to schools funding” has been set up which has currently been signed by over 40,000 people. Once a petition has received 10,000 signature it is guaranteed a response by Government and if it can gain 100,000 signatures it will be considered for discussion in Parliament. So if you haven’t already done so please follow this link and sign up.  It only takes a minute.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/229744

Better still ask your friends to sign as well. You can also access an interactive map which shows you the level of support in your area.