College of West Anglia to cut teaching jobs
TEACHERS are to be axed at The College of West Anglia due to a funding crisis.
The college, which has its Isle campus in Wisbech, has announced it needs to cut 43.5 posts to deal with “unprecedented financial challenges” including a �750,000 budget deficit.
It also needs to make severe cutbacks to fund a �21 million refurbishment programme to stop college campuses from crumbling in the years ahead.
Principal David Pomfret said the college was under severe pressure from dwindling income, spiralling costs and heavily reduced Government funds.
He said: “Government funding for further education will undoubtedly fall substantially over the next few years.
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“Both the amount of training we can deliver and the funding we receive will come under pressure.”
The cutbacks have already put paid to a planned new building programme for a campus in March.
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But the financial situation is now even worse, as the lack of new building means the existing sites will need “substantial investment to ensure they are fit for purpose”.
Mr Pomfret said: “With no significant central Government funding and with other sources under increased financial pressure, we will have to fund much of the campus refurbishment ourselves.”
In total 43.5 posts will go but vacant posts mean the number of staff affected will be 31.
A total of 11.3 teaching positions will disappear, along with jobs in business and support services. However 21 new posts will be created across College of West Anglia campuses.
The college will ask for voluntary redundancies and seek to use natural wastage to get rid of as many posts as it can.
Mr Pomfret added: “We are committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies as far as possible.”
Last week the college announced it was stopping its Higher Education Diploma in graphic design because it did not recruit enough students to make it financially viable.
The principal said: “The college governors and senior management remain committed to providing outstanding education and training opportunities for all our students.”
