Saturday 5 November 2011

Future of post-16 education

Meeting at the University of Abertay Dundee
Last night, along with representatives from the University College Union (UCU) at the University of Dundee, the University of Abertay Dundee and London Metropolitan University and a UCU national representative, the National Union of Students (NUS), Abertay Students' Association and parliamentary representatives from Labour and the SNP, I took part in a public meeting on the future of post-16 education - addressing the audience and taking part in the panel discussion thereafter.

For me, key messages include the need for clarity about what is actually meant by "closer collaboration" between Dundee's two universities and reassurance regarding academic posts and other jobs and on course availability.    Both the NUS representative and I stressed the damage the SNP government's proposed further cuts in college funding will cause and urged the government to reverse these cuts.