Cutbacks cause concern among teachers

FURTHER education teachers are warning that increasing workloads could jeopardise the quality of further education in Guernsey. Their national union president, John Wilkin, said that members were concerned that cutbacks would deprive students and make working life harder for teachers.

'The members are concerned about the prospect of cuts because of the budget crisis,' said Mr Wilkin.

'There is concern being expressed, especially with the workloads.

'The immediate effect of an increase in workloads would be more students per class, less time for students, less time giving feedback and building relationships with students.'

He said it would be a 'tragedy' if Guernsey's College of Further Education, which compared 'excellently' with its counterparts elsewhere, started facing similar problems.

The 57,000 strong NATFHE, the university and college lecturers' union, was on strike in the UK last week over pay differentials between colleges and schools.

Guernsey's CFE teachers currently get equal pay with their state school counterparts.

'We are a professional body as well as a union ' we are not only concerned with pay and conditions, we love what we do.'

The union has nearly 60 members in Guernsey. Their branch secretary, Steve Park, said that, at present, workloads were 'OK for most members'.

'But you cannot keep squeezing people and I believe that any cuts must eventually affect the quality of the service,' he said.

He said that as a representative of a professional body, the quality of education was a top concern.

'We believe in what we do.'

The elected union president is touring branches pushing for a merger with AUT, which represents 43,000 lecturers in old universities.

'We would get a much stronger voice,' said the 59-year-old mathematics and statistics lecturer at Coventry University.

'I hope I am the last NATFHE president.'

Mr Park also said he favoured the merger and said he was voting in favour in a members' ballot.