Peter Davies, principal of City Lit, is concerned that the Government’s desire to promote what it terms “informal adult learning” may herald the decline of traditional classes and leave many learners to study alone with little more than the support of the internet.
A consultation paper published in January by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills appears to focus heavily on the use of IT as a study aid and says little about the role of qualified teachers. Davies sees this as a potential erosion of quality. “The risk for us is that people will say there is so much going on through the internet that it’s no longer necessary to fund more expensive adult education classes,” he says.
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