Around 40 campaigners held a demonstration against cuts to post-16 education at Leicester’s Clock Tower.

The demo on Wednesday night was organised by the Leicester and District Trades Union Council.

Brandishing banners, stating ‘Stop the Cuts’, they said that as well as financial shortfalls in the sector, funding for courses in English as a second language (ESOL) had been slashed.

Campaigners said that Leicester College had lost £1.5 million towards ESOL courses which directly benefited the local economy.

They said that this “flew in the face of the government’s demands that all immigrants should be able to speak English.

Anne Blair, from Leicester and District Trades Union Council and a teacher at Regent College, in Leicester, said: “This really blights the future of many people who might otherwise be able to get jobs, work, and contribute to our economy and is in complete disparity with what the government has said it wants.

“These wholesale cuts to post-16 education aren’t fair and they have to be stopped. Staff and students in post-16 education are having to put up with the bare bones and it can’t continue. It’s no less important than pre-16 and education and we hope this demo highlight’s that.”

Ali Khalif, 38, from Iran, is an ESOL student at Leicester College.

He said: “I’ve had my teaching hours reduced and I know that learning to speak English is very important. It’s really helped me going to the college. When I first got here I couldn’t speak to anyone.”

Kate Drew, chair of the University and College Union (UCU) at Leicester College said: “Cuts to education have been dramatic. We’ve already lost large amounts of staff and there have now been huge cuts to ESOL funding too. It’s time to say enough is enough. This government is trying to close down Further Education. There are students who don’t fit into A-Level study and apprenticeships are hard to come by when there are no jobs out there. Further Education helps to fill those gaps.”

Along with funding cuts to ESOL courses, Leicester College’s grant from the Skills Funding Agency has been cut by 17 per cent, meaning it will have £3 million less in support next year on its annual £50 million budget.

Principal Verity Hancock was not at the demonstration but gave it her full support.

She said: “The budget for this sector is appalling and we know it’s only going to get worse when the government’s spending review comes out later this year. Among the funding we used to receive was over £20 million towards adult education – those aged over 19. It’s not much more than half that now.

“We had £1.5 million of ESOL funding removed without any notice, making us the second worst hit college in the country.

The Department for Education doesn’t ring fence money for education at post-16 and this just isn’t logical, especially now that all young people need to be in education or training until 18.”