Bradford College is to slash about 70 jobs and pull out of 22 community learning centres.

The college says it has to make cuts in adult learning after the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) announced a withdrawal of £1 million from "learning for leisure".

College bosses said 67 part-time tutors, two full-time and 12 other academic and support staff would lose their jobs from September.

The College said the LSC was transferring the cash to Government priorities of learning, basic skills and vocational courses for 16-to-18-year-olds.

Kevin McGuiness, chairman of Bradford College Corporation Governing Body, said: "We are deeply disappointed and upset that we will have to change the courses we have previously offered to adults and withdraw from some venues. It goes without saying that we will deal sympathetically with the probable 22 full-time equivalent staff redundancies."

In a joint statement, Bradford College and the University and Colleges' Union (UCU) expressed regret and disappointment at changes in funding which they said may have a serious impact on adult and community learning at the College.

"We echo the views of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education that adult education is being devastated and we urge the management and staff of other colleges and their local MPs to speak out and call on the Government to rethink its plans for adult education," they said.

A college spokesman said courses most affected include cake decoration, cookery, creative cards, the arts, guitar and piano playing, jewellery making, photography, pottery, scrapbooking and wine appreciation.

The Government has advised all colleges these courses should be replaced by study leading to national vocational qualifications.

Mike Lowe, director of the LSC in West Yorkshire, said "record levels of funding" were being channelled by the LSC into funding the courses and qualifications employers have said they need.

He said: "True, Further Education budgets have seen increases in funding for 16-to-18-year-olds while there have been reductions in adult funding. But funding for Personal and Community Development Learning is safeguarded within FE allocations and, for Bradford College alone, this means as much as £360,000, which could potentially be used to fund leisure courses."

Mr Lowe said the LSC believed adults who could pay for courses should do so.

Philip Shackleton, Association of Teachers and Lecturers Bradford branch secretary, was "shocked" at the "magnitude" of the cuts but said they had been anticipated for some time.

"We do, of course, sympathise with people who had benefited from these courses and will work with any of our members affected by their loss."

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