By Gemma Collins TOWER Hamlets College will be brought to a standstill on Friday as teachers stage a strike against possible plans to axe hundreds of courses for students wanting to learn English as a second language. More than 100 lecturers are expecte
THE huge Tower Hamlets College is being brought to a standstill on Friday as teachers stage a strike against plans to axe classes for hundreds of students learning English as a second language.
Around 100 lecturers are expected to join a walk-out at 11am in protest at proposed cuts at the college in Poplar which could involve half the students being kicked off their English courses.
College principal Michael Farley insists the college is “feeling the crunch of a reduction in Government funding and reduced student numbers.”
IMPACT
He added: “The negative impact such a strike could have on the college reputation and subsequently on recruitment will potentially cause long-term problems for the college.”
The lecturers’ union says it is “well aware of the difficulties” the college is facing over funding.
Its branch chair Alison Lord, said: “This a huge overreaction. We have 800 students on waiting lists, so cutting provision in half will hit some of the most vulnerable people in London.”
The strike follows a protest in the East End on Saturday when 700 campaigners marched from
Bethnal Green to Whitechapel over the job cuts at the college as well as cuts planned at the London Met University and St Paul’s Way School in Bow Common.
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