College strike over funding cuts

SAVE our colleges . . . Oldham NUT branch secretary Nigel Yeo with fellow union members on the picket line at Oldham Sixth Form College

TEACHERS at Oldham Sixth Form College took part in a one-day strike over national funding cuts.

National Union of Teachers (NUT) members walked out yesterday as part of action at sixth form colleges across the country. The Government had sought an eleventh-hour court injunction to stop the strike, arguing it was politically motivated. But Mr Justice Kerr refused to grant Education Secretary Nicky Morgan an urgent declaration that it was unlawful.

The NUT has around 70 members at Oldham Sixth Form College. Oldham branch secretary Nigel Yeo said: “This is not a dispute with the college, which does a really good job for the youngsters of Oldham.

“We are here to highlight the swingeing cuts made to sixth form college funding. There were 14 per cent cuts by the coalition government and a further 8 per cent in this government.

“The youngsters of this college and others up and down the country are the future of the country and we should be investing in them, not cutting back. The Government tried to say this was a political dispute but it’s not because we are talking about 22 per cent cuts and the future of sixth forms.”

Area reviews are being carried out to look at the future of sixth form and further education colleges, which could lead to mergers and closures. One of the first reviews is currently taking place in Greater Manchester, which includes Oldham College and Oldham Sixth Form College, and is expected to be completed in late May.

College principal Jayne Clarke said: “It is important to be clear that this action was against the secretary of state, not any individual college. We were concerned to minimise the impact on students and where classes were not running yesterday, students were set work in most, if not all, cases. They could also use our various study areas to work throughout the day.”