Education spending cuts "madness"

Wednesday, May 26th 2010

Plans to cut expenditure on education do not have the backing of the University and College Union, it has revealed.

Paul Cottrell, national head of public policy at the body, says any reduction in funding is "madness".

His comments come as the coalition government announced financial support for education would drop by £670 million.

It will mean half of the 20,000 extra university places the Labour government scheduled are no longer available.

Mr Cottrell stated: "Education – not just schools, but education as a whole – should be exempt from public expenditure cuts."

This is vital if the UK wants to stay out of recession and create a strong economy, he continued.

He noted the government has said it will protect schools, but foundation and higher education will be affected by the cuts.

Charging more for students to go to such establishments will only reduce access and is not a viable solution, he added.