'recreation for the Jnemployed'

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of Action longer seems happy simply to smash the education system by massive cuts alone. Their latest attack is on students relying on Social Security. They are tring to force then out of education by threatening to stop their dole money.

After months of hopelessly looking for work, many unemployed youth saw their only chance of escape as being to go back to college and trying to improve their chances of getting a job.

For the last ten years the unemployed have been able to attend college for up to 21 hours without it prejudicing their supplementary benefit.

But when it came round to filing in the examination forms many of us found that the £20 we'd spent on text books and stationary had been wasted. How could we find up to £50 to pay exam fees?

We were faced with …a choice. Get the money off our parents (who are often just as badly off), we could leave college without taking the exam or we could fight back.

So we in the student's union set to work. We contacted the Department of Health and Social Security, the Student Grants section at Leicester County Hall and the Manpower Services Commission. The MSC didn't reply. The Student Grants Section refused to pay our exam fees because we were not full time. And the DHSS informed us after much searching through the rules, that they saw further education as a 'recreation for the unemployed'!!!

The Government's attitude to unemployed students is also highlighted to Newcastle DHSS. This said that payments to the majority 01 voluntary students should be stopped. This should bedone by claimning that the students were working more than 21 hours including private study time, or that they were not looking for a job. This letter will no doubt be sent to other DHSS's soon.

The Tories are clamping down. When levels youth unemployment were lower, the Government considered it acceptable for the unemployed atirecejve part-time educunemployment has risen steeply and more youth have taken advantage of the opportunity of part-time education on the dole the Tories have decided that this is unacceptable -they might need to empl oy more lecturers!

Our student union churned out letters to bodies who might just fill in the gap. The Leicestershire Area of the NUS has been contacted to co-ordinat a campaign to fight for the rights of part-time students. We are organising a meeting of all unemployed students at our college from which we hope to form an action committee. We are proposing marches and lobbies of County Hall and the DHSS.

The Tories find it easier to make cuts in this way through smaller FE colleges where the students aren't well-organised and there often isn't an effective union. So it is absolutely vital that we get the support of th bigger student unions with better facilities.

Judy Goss, Charles Keene FE College, Leicester. ing' produced by socialist students in London's •FE's. This could be done to co-ordinate action in other areas.

The week of action lasts from 1st -5th March. On the Monday, a national lobby of Parliament is planned and walk-outs of each sector have been called. Universities (Mon) Polys (tues) and Techs and FE's (Wed).

Demonstrations

On the Friday two national demonstrations have been called, one in London and one in Glasgow.

All Class Fighter supporters should organise for these events and plan activities to help get the message across to the Tories.

Neil James