In Defence of Adult Learning
In the early 1980s when I was a Walker Councillor I can remember discussing with Councillor Norman Stockdale the reasons why there was hardly any involvement of our Walker constituents in adult education in the east end of Newcastle. We thought then that there were probably three main reasons for this. We thought that the nearest provider in Heaton was too far away and that the journey time and travel costs put people off. We wondered if the courses themselves were interesting for the people we represented. And we wondered if the relatively small charge that the education authorities made for adult education courses in the early 1980s was more than people could afford.
We decided on an experiment just in Walker, and just for a year. We set aside about a £1,000 of the local priority area team budget to pay the course fees for anyone in Walker who wanted to go on an adult education course. There was a large take-up for this and we used up the entire budget.
It’s clear to me that many people enjoy adult education classes, but some are deterred because of the charges. Education is not just for young people. It is liberating and enriching at any age.
I was reflecting on all of this when I visited Heaton Adult Education Association in September during the Summer Parliamentary Recess. The Association is based in the Council-run building that used to be Manor Park Lower School.
The Council have cancelled their funding. It is no good trying to blame the Learning and Skills Council for having prioritised courses that can lead directly to enhanced employment opportunities. Similarly it is equally pointless to blame the European Union’s regulations. The Council argue that the small voluntary association that runs the adult education courses didn’t meet “essential criteria” and that therefore “following legal advice” the Council couldn’t award them a contract to provide the courses. There is no evidence of the Council making any effort to help either by advising the Association or looking for an alternative route to provide support. The Council simply didn’t want to do these things.
Under political pressure to keep the Council Tax bill low, this relatively small item of public expenditure is cut and a small, useful, and worthwhile service is lost.