The Anti-Social Offensive in the Further Education Sector

Workers' Daily Internet Edition : Article Index :

The Anti-Social Offensive in the Further Education Sector
Teachers Strike in London

NATO War Exercises ahead of Enlargement Summit
Challenges of African Integration
For Your Reference: UN Discussion of Report of Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia

Picket of US Embassy:
NO TO BUSH’S WARS –DON’T ATTACK IRAQ
Public meeting organised by London Region CND:
The Civil Liberties implications of the Anti-Terrorism Act

On March 7, speaking at a post-16 education seminar hosted by the Learning and Skills Development Agency, Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education, underlined the present government’s approach to the Further Education sector.

She declared that the government intends to carry out radical intervention in the sector to "boost quality in post-16 learning". She went on ".. four out of ten colleges need to be re-inspected in some curriculum areas. One in five students drop out and you only have a 50:50 chance in post 16 learning of successfully achieving what you set out to do." Further on in her speech to college principals and other concerned professionals, she stated, " … so we want to develop new teaching and learning strategies in further education building on what we have done in schools. We want to invest in training so that further education teachers can effectively deliver the curriculum." She continued with the following veiled threats: " We want to work with all stakeholders to achieve a step change in quality, but persistent under-performers will no longer be tolerated. … if there are persistent weaknesses or we have serious concerns, we will not hesitate to take action." The following day, officials at the Ministry of Education clarified that the action the minister had in mind included the taking over of "failing colleges" by teams of "outside managers" or their outright closure. During the same speech, Margaret Hodge also raised the idea of doing away with post-16 general education and instead reorganising "the sector with colleges specialising as centres of vocational excellence".

Through sleight of hand, Margaret Hodge is trying to place the blame for the problems in the Further Education sector at the door of the lecturers and workers while preparing the ground for furthering the anti-social offensive which has already caused so much damage. She is insinuating that these problems are caused by lecturers lacking the necessary training to deliver the post-16 curriculum or the fact that institutions have a broad general education character.

The facts are, however, that the growing crisis in the sector are the direct result of the anti-social offensive which Margaret Hodge is proposing to deepen even further. Since the move in the early 1990s to take colleges out of the control of the local education authorities and to incorporate them as independent institutions, the funding into the sector has been cut year on year. Noting the dire under-funding of further education, David Gibson, the Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, pointed out "colleges have struggled with a decade of under-funding " and "core funding is 10% lower than in 1996". Analysts point out that 70 of the country’s 416 post-16 colleges are "operating at a loss" and a recent National Audit Office report concluded that one in five colleges are " experiencing dire cash problems". This situation has been brought into sharp relief by the situation at Southampton College, where lecturers and other staff have staged a five-day strike after the college management refused to pay the annual pay increase, cut hourly pay rates for part time staff and demanded a cut in summer holidays. The college principal, Lindsey Noble, declared that these measures were due to the fact that the college is "in a serious financial situation" and without them, "large scale redundancies would be unavoidable". Commenting on a House of Commons Public Accounts Report on the state of further education, Paul Mackney, general secretary of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, declared, "FE colleges have had to cope with year on year cuts since 1993, resulting in an exodus of 22,000 experienced and well qualified lecturers."

This is the main contributory factor to the present situation in post-16 education, which Margaret Hodge fails to address. Instead her proposals are aimed at intensifying the anti-social offensive which is based on the rejection of the principle that education is a right which each citizen is entitled to and which is necessary to raise the all-round cultural level of society, and that it must be funded by the state to make it available at the highest possible level. Margaret Hodge’s approach sees education only from the standpoint the interest of the monopolies and in particular in preparing and churning out workers barely equipped to serve their interests on the one hand, and an elite in the service of the status quo on the other. Furthermore, the sector is seen as an untapped source of profit for private capital through the creeping privatisation which is already spreading in secondary education and which will no doubt be introduced into further education under the guise of "management takeovers of failing institutions".

Teachers in London are staging a one-day strike on Thursday, March 14, to support their demand for a substantial increase in their London Allowance. The strike ballot was supported by 86% of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) members who voted. The NUT pointed out that teacher’s London allowances are £3,000 for Inner London, £1,974 for outer London and £765 for fringe areas and this compares with a London wide allowance for the police of £6,000.

A major military exercise called "Strong Resolve 2002" has been taking place in Norway and Poland from March 1-15. Baltic states, the Ukraine and Uzbekistan have participated in the NATO international exercise on Polish territory, practising co-ordination of troop action during "peacekeeping" operations and in and around Norway simulating defending NATO against attack.

While this has been going on, from March 12-14, the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania are visiting London to attend a European Band of Reconstruction and Development seminar. A meeting is planned with Tony Blair to discuss the EU and NATO. And from March 11-15 Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov is visiting Washington to meet counterpart Donald Rumsfeld for talks on fighting "international terrorism" and a new framework of "strategic stability".

At the same time, from March 8-15 more than 4,000 German, US, Belgian, French and Czech troops are taking part in an international military exercise named "Moravian Shield". The exercise aims to co-ordinate procedures in NATO countries' defence.

NATO has said that the "Strong Resolve" exercises are designed to test the military alliance’s ability to conduct two simultaneous operations: a NATO Article 5 collective defence operation and a crisis response operation. It has involved naval, ground and air forces from the Alliance's two strategic commands: the Supreme Headquarters Allied Forces Europe (SHAPE) and the Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (HQ SACLANT).

The NATO Article 5 collective defence portion of the exercise has involved a conventional attack against a NATO member country and has been conducted in Norway and the surrounding sea and air spaces. The crisis response operation, involving the deployment of a NATO-led Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) to mediate between two warring countries beyond NATO's area of responsibility, has been taking place in Poland.

Apart from being aimed to test NATO’s mechanisms for "collective defence" and "crisis response" operations, "Strong Resolve 2002" has been exercising elements of the NATO integrated command structure in its full range of tasks, in crisis and war. NATO has said that this will help increase interoperability between and with the "Partnership for Peace" countries. Twelve Partner countries have been participating in this exercise, together with 14 NATO member countries.

"Strong Resolve" has been scheduled by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for the Article 5 part of the exercise and by the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for the crisis response operation. The Commander-in-Chief, North Europe (CINCNORTH) has been conducting the Article 5 operation and the Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic (COMSTRIKFLANT) the crisis response part of the exercise. Three complementary exercises have been taking place under the common scenario of "Strong Resolve": Exercise Adventure Express, Exercise Affirmative Alert and Exercise Battle Griffin.

Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that an armed attack against one or more of the members of NATO in Europe or North America shall be considered as an attack against all. It was the article which, on 12 September, NATO decided that, if it were determined that the attack against the US was directed from abroad, would be invoked as covering the action. It was the first time in NATO’s history that Article 5 had been invoked. NATO calls this the principle of collective defence.

Thus the present exercises have been taking place in connection with this so-called principle of "collective defence", together with the so-called "peace-keeping" or "crisis response" role outside the countries who are NATO members.

The aggressive NATO military alliance is seeking to further the domination of US imperialism and other powers allied with it globally, and is set for a further round of enlargement at its Prague Summit in November, while it is coming into contradiction with the "Strategic and Defence Identity" of the EU in so doing.

In a speech in Paris on March 12, George Robertson, the NATO Secretary General, acknowledged there was transatlantic tension in this respect, but claimed that it was nothing new, and that for five decades there have been fears that the two sides of the Atlantic were drifting apart or were on a collision course.

George Robertson claimed that the declaration of Article 5, the declaration that the attack on the US was an attack on all 18 NATO countries, was a powerful statement of transatlantic unity, despite the fact that it was not an attack by a known state or that the US response had nothing to do with self-defence.

He did, however, draw attention to NATO's "partnership" relations with countries in Central Asia which, he said, have meant that the International Security Assistance Force in operates efficiently only because the European forces have decades of experience working together in NATO.

At the same time, he referred to what he called Europe's relative military weakness, as compared to the US, despite the St Malo agreement, which has led quickly to the development of the EU’s military identity. He therefore argued that when it comes to intensive combat, Europe still has to rely critically on the United States, saying that, when it comes to defence, Europe has the ambition but not the ability.

The NATO Secretary General’s argument is that European countries must come under the wing of the US and NATO and stay there, but at the same time they must pull their weight in this relationship and "show a new willingness to develop effective crisis management capabilities".

This is the context in which the major NATO exercises have been taking place on its northern and eastern flanks.

The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) challenged African leaders to address some of the key issues prior to the realisation of the African Union.

In his keynote speech to the African Union Symposium in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on March 3, the speaker highlighted some of the areas that participants of the Third African Development Forum ADF-III will have to deal with in the effort for Africa’s integration.

The symposium was organised by the OAU and the Inter-Africa Group, and took place ahead of ADF-III, which this year takes place under the theme "Defining Priorities for Regional Integration".

"The importance of a strong and successful African Union, is shared by all. There is a momentum towards integration that must be nourished effectively. This requires the engagement of leaders, like yourselves", the ECA head said. "If this time, regional integration is to succeed, to the point that we become a true community of nations and economies, we had better be sure, that the designs truly meet the needs of customers: governments, business and civil society", he said.

Abdul Mohamed, Executive Director of the Inter-Africa Group, also lamented the many "false starts" in the last few decades, but said that "things may be different this time around".

The symposium was meant to provide an opportunity to clarify the status, process and objectives of the establishment of the African Union, to obtain input from a range of stakeholders, and chart the way forward.

The ADF-III officially opened on March 4. It brought together a wide spectrum of "stakeholders" – governments, parliaments, business, finance, labour, civil society, international organisational and the Diaspora, including experts from different part of the world to discuss the milestones, bring clarity to the issues and chart the future of Africa’s regional integration.

In a briefing to the UN Security Council on the delegation's trip last month to Ethiopia and Eritrea, Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway said on March 6 that the mission's report reflected the 15-member body's united stand in supporting the completion of the Algiers peace process. The mission had also revealed that both parties remained committed to that goal as well and that they underscored their desire to work closely with the Council towards that end.

Meetings with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea had highlighted the progress made in the peace process to date and the upcoming final legal settlement of the border issue, Ambassador Kolby said, adding that the mission welcomed statements by both sides that the Boundary Commission's work would be final and binding.

Moreover, Ambassador Kolby said the delegation had urged both sides to comply fully with their obligations to allow the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to move forward. It had also highlighted the importance of respecting international humanitarian law through the release of prisoners of war and detainees.

Representatives from Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as 18 other countries, took the floor during the Council's ensuing discussion.

Eritrea's representative, Tesfa Alem Seyoum, told the Council that the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) could not be established due to Ethiopia's refusal to redeploy its troops. As a result, more than 60,000 Eritrean civilians remained stranded in makeshift camps, unable to return to their homes and villages. Ethiopia had also refused to fulfil the agreement's provision for prompt demining and had failed to provide UNMEE with detailed landmine information.

For his part, Ambassador Fesseha Tessema of Ethiopia said the Council's mission would help to move the peace process forward and contribute to resolving some outstanding issues before the Boundary Commission announced its decision, which ought to be a judicial one, void of any political pressures. As the peace process was in a critical stage, he said he would not want to see any remaining issues jeopardise the implementation of the Algiers Agreement.

Inocencio F. Arias of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey and Iceland, said the announcement of the Boundary Commission's decision in the next few weeks would close the first phase of the ongoing peace process. The European Union expected that the parties would ensure that the process of implementation of that decision would commence immediately and proceed expeditiously in a co-ordinated manner, while maintaining stability in all affected areas. As the Council would consider the extension of UNMEE's mandate next week, he looked forward to the Secretary-General's recommendations with a view to providing an overall framework of the implementation phase and the appropriate role of UNMEE.

To facilitate the implementation process, a further development of the institutional framework for the peace process would be needed, in particular through appropriate strengthening of the Military Co-ordination Commission, he said. The European Union attached the utmost importance to the continuation of arrangements for the separation of the forces, as achieved by the establishment of the Temporary Security Zone.

In the context of confidence-building measures, the European Union called on the parties to immediately release and return unconditionally all remaining prisoners of war and all those detained as a result of the armed conflict. It was also important to ensure a sustainable reintegration of refugees, internally displaced persons and demobilised soldiers. He called on the parties urgently to resolve all the other outstanding issues, including that of full freedom of movement of UNMEE.

He said the consolidation of peace between both countries would contribute to regional co-operation and integration, which was vitally important for a stable and sustainable development in the Horn of Africa, which remained an area of particular concern for the Union. In that context, he noted the signing of the protocol on the establishment of an early conflict warning and response mechanism at the ninth Intergovernmental Authority on Development Summit on 11 January. The EU would continue to provide assistance to the populations affected by the conflict and by other humanitarian disasters such as the current drought.

Alistair Harrison for Britain endorsed the statement by Spain on behalf of the EU, saying that it was obvious that the Boundary Commission’s decision would have considerable importance for the peace process and for the stability of the region.

But, he said, the decision would not be the end of the peace process and current arrangements on the ground would have to remain, he said. Eritrean non-compliance would also have to be addressed. Pointing out that demining may be beyond the capacity of the two countries, he urged the Council to consider enhancing UNMEE’s role in that regard when it renewed the peacekeeping mission's mandate.

The mission’s report had welcomed the statements by the two countries reaffirming that the decision on boundary issues by an independent commission "is final and binding", and emphasised that implementing the findings should take place in an orderly manner without any unilateral actions by either side. "The international community attaches the highest importance to this decision and praises the resolution by peaceful means of the border conflict," the report says. "The commitments of both parties [to the decision of the Boundary Commission] represent a pivotal measure of their dedication to the peace process."

The Security Council delegation, accompanied by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Ethiopia and Eritrea, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, had travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they met with Prime Minister Meles, and to Asmara, Eritrea, where they met with President Isaias.

NO TO BUSH’S WARS –DON’T ATTACK IRAQ

A picket of the US Embassy, called by Student CND and supported by Student Stop the War Coalition, took place yesterday evening.

Student CND pointed out that George W Bush is preparing to attack Iraq. He has made clear the US will punish any state seen as an obstacle to its total economic and political international domination. US military spending is now greater than that of the next nine countries put together. Bush has abandoned the 24-year-old US pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states. The US is starting a new global nuclear arms race by developing a National Missile Defence "star wars" system to allow the US to use nuclear weapons without fear of retaliation.

Monday 18th March Public meeting organised by London Region CND

The Civil Liberties implications of the Anti-Terrorism Act

7pm House of Commons, London SW1
Speakers: Jeremy Corbyn MP, Louise Christian - human rights lawyer representing a Guantanamo detainee, Mark Littlewood - campaigns director, Liberty, Chair: Kate Hudson - CND
Supported by Stop the War Coalition, Student CND, Action for UN Renewal, Liberation