Education cuts 'will turn Britain into yesterday's country'

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/29/education-cuts-britain-yesterdays-country

Education spending cuts put the UK at risk of turning into "yesterday's country", the leader of the university lecturers' union has warned.

In a scathing attack on the government, Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), says the coalition is a "fundamental threat", undermining the work done in further and higher education.

In a speech to delegates at the UCU's annual conference in Harrogate, she will say that while all public services are facing cuts, universities and colleges have been "singled out for special treatment", with spending slashed by 17% over the next two years. UCU represents more than 120,000 academics and other staff.

"The cost to our country of this attack on education will be substantial," Hunt will say, adding: "When you weigh the cost of keeping kids on benefit versus giving them a chance in life, it is ignorance that is the expensive option, not education."