Lecturers vote on college action

Lecturers say changes at the college are undermining their standards

Lecturers at Coleg Menai in Gwynedd and on Anglesey have voted to take part in industrial action in a dispute over class sizes and teaching hours.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) said the changes will damage the quality of education.

There are around 120 lecturers involved at four sites - Bangor, Caernarfon, Holyhead and Llangefni.

Coleg Menai said class sizes above 18 students were an exception and the action was by a "small minority".

UCU said that over the last two years the number of hours that students spend with its members in one-to-one teaching has been cut, with some course modules seeing a drop from 72 to 51 hours.

The union also said class sizes have been increased from a norm of 15 to 24.

'Crammed'

It said these changes are undermining lecturers' professional standards while also reducing the quality of education that students receive.

UCU said if an agreement cannot be reached then its members will take part in industrial action next month when they will refuse to input data into the college computer systems.

In a ballot last week, 71% of lecturers voted in favour of industrial action.

Ken Hughes said: "Staff are extremely frustrated and angry to an extent in as much that their concerns are not being addressed.

"[It's] becoming an almost impossible situation, where you have a large group, reduced teaching time and it's not fair on the students.

"They're getting quite tired, overworked lecturers in front of them, fewer teaching hours and also they're crammed in large groups in these small rooms. They're not getting their money's worth."

A Coleg Menai spokeswoman said: "This action by a small minority of college staff will not have any impact on the high standard of teaching and work of the college.

"As a result of the college's good name, there is an increase in demand for places on courses and, on average, class sizes can be between 10-16 students. Groups of over 18 are an exception and lecturers get extra time as a result to support students."

She said any prospective student, parent or employer should contact the college if they had any questions.

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