Adult courses suffer £55m funding cut

Adult education is under threat because of a sudden reduction in government funding. Thousands of evening classes and part-time courses have been axed by colleges across the UK.

Prospectuses sent out to students this week show fees doubling or, in some cases, quadrupling.

The move comes as colleges are being ordered to spend more on providing remedial help for teenagers who leave school with poor qualifications. Subjects from languages to art and DIY are set to end, with fewer opportunities for adults to take AS and A-level courses in their spare time.

The Association of Colleges fears the £55million cut in funding for adult courses - a drop of three per cent - threatens the future of adult education, with more than 200,000 course places set to be lost this September.

Eve Taylor, from Barnet, who is in her seventies, insisted that it's not only pensioners who will lose what she calls "a lifeline for the mind". Her course for would-be silver and goldsmiths caters for "all ages - from 20 to over 80". But she fears it will have to close because the £200 fee is rising to £1,040.