in February, Denis Healey introduced proposals to slash education expenditure Dy colom in ine next tew years. swinging cuts come on siegev erosion or ine eaucation service since coming to power. raver nad already cartea tor malor curs of £357m between 1974-5 and £264m beThe fact that the government should be seeking is not, of course, crisis since WW1 has brought forth demanas tor eaucation curs 1922. cancelled manv of the reforms of the 1918 Education Act; the MacDonald government, in the thirties, the implementation of the Hadlow report and cut teachers' salaries; and, in the post - war austerity period, the Atlee • government backiracked on many of the provisions of the 1944 Education Act.
The present cut-backs are, among the most severe yet seen.
Gen Sec ) called 'spitting in the face ot the TUC'. They are also Ispittina ir the facel of thousands of students and teachers wno will tace larger classes, cut-backs in nursery facilities, continuation of old, dilapidated schools and rising teacher unemployment.
Control The government obviously intends to ram through these cut-backs by tighter control over local authorities. Whitena nas ronxercisea Control over school building expenditure but only Unis year nds LEA's over other education expenditUlC.
This autumn, taking place with local authorities on the 'rate support grant', uea guidelines on coming year. reconsider unet nursery broor amme. to refuse places in schools to children who are not five until after the start of term and to make economies in 'sixth Torm orcanisation in dollon. were instructed not to improve pupilteacner ratos ane to reduce ine number of teachers in schools where the pupil rate was likely to fall. US STUDENTS FIGHT CUTS • March 3: 1,000 students rallied at York College in Jamaica, Queeng. and then marched through the surrounding • March 4: 2,000 students at John Jay College in Manhattan held a rally and marched to the board of higher education offices. • March 5: More than 1,000 students from Hostos College, which has exten sive bilingual programs to serve the Puerto Rican community of the Bronx, blocked the Grand Concourse to prest une planneu saucown or merr sChool • March 8: 3,000 students protested outside hearing by nigher euucanor cutback while another 2,000 rallied at Queens College.
Case top of Labour's Its 1974 White make inroaas inio educatior new. avery economic The Tories, in postponed however, They Fred Jarvis (NUT the LTIe year it sought to 'dictatel to while negotiations were Crosland issexpenditure for the LEA's were urged now to Iney Tight restrictions on the rate support grant coupled with no supplementary payments during the year are clearly the weapons whereby to force local authorities - the Labour ones in particular - into towing the authorities are likely to see his 'advice' as the green light to make yet more extensive cuts.
Unemployment While these financial curbs have not yet affected the schools directly, have already begun to bite in terms of teacher unemployment. imates that although only 4000 teachers are registered as unemployed, at least 8000 are • seeking jobs in schools but are unable to find them. In some areas even a part - time teaching post will proauce over o0 applicants when adveruse ane ine situation wilbe much worse next September.
in recent years. Ine number or teachens has increased annually by about 20, 000. In September, the increase should have been of the same order but was only in region of 11,000 (which confirms the NUT's estimate). LEA plans for next which are being ratified by local councils at the moment, nearly ume no increase in the number of teachers employed and, in some areas, they involve subslanta reductions At the same time, the number of teachers leaving colleges would allow for a further increase in the total workforce of about 17000. unless some drastic action is taken in the coming period against the can be predicted that 25, 000 teachers will be looking for a job next Autumn. Long-term It is not only in the days ahead that teachers' jobs are threatened. term prospęcts for the education system are even worse. In 1900, Advisory Council on the Supply of teachers established, as the target for teacher supply, pupil ratos necessary to reduce all bui 5% of classes to 30 or less: 19.7:1 •rary schools 16. 3•1 for schools and 10.6:1 for sixth forms. Crosland hopes they The NUT estDucation, figures', all assand universities cuts, schools.
The longthe National Tory Training and the teacherfor secondary YEAR Ms. Thatcher, when Secretary for Edsubtly changed this target to that of a 110% improvement on the 197 •which meant a reduction of about 50,000 teachers on the previous target for 1981. The Labour government nas accepted the new target and has actually gone ahead with the wholesale closure of colleges of education which it implied. This year, the number of students entering colleges was 30,000 and, if the current plans go through, be reduced to a mere 12, 000 in 1978.
Thus a Labour government, elected on a plattorm ot reducing class sizes. in the immediate future ready to force thousands of newly-qualified teachers onio ine dole as part ot a long - term trend to worsen the teacher-pupil ratio. Conditions Fewer teachers dealing with larger classes will not only. or course. teacher employment but will also worsen lne slandara or ecucation ottereo in ine Pupils will be taught by stretched staff in out-of-date buildings with inadequate facilities. In order • such polcies ~aevocale• •vine Rhodes Boyson for some years -never end nad sce van. shod over the decision by last year's Labour Party Conterence to begin to
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COLLEGE Teachers on the dole and