Affordable Transport for Students is a Must Says College Principal

City College Norwich Principal Dick Palmer is calling upon Norfolk County Council not to remove subsidised travel for students in the county.  The statement from the Principal comes ahead of a protest march in Norwich by students on Monday 6th December.

Norfolk County Council is currently consulting on a proposal to end the subsidy for school and college transport for those aged 16 and over.  This would mean the cost of a bus pass for students doubling to £784 per student per year from September 2012.

In a statement on the proposals, Dick Palmer said:

“Post-16 transport support is an investment in the economic future of the young people of Norfolk, not a burden.  Norfolk County Council has a duty under the 1996 Education Act to “identify the transport needs of students and to ensure that transport is not a barrier to them accessing education and training”.  This duty is not discretionary. 

“For many students being able to attend a college such as ours is an essential step towards securing the specialist areas of study, staff and resources required for them to progress to the right high level courses and employment.

“One third of our 16-19 year old students need a bus pass to get to City College Norwich.  Some young people would inevitably drop out of learning at 16 because of the increased costs of travel and would waste their potential by becoming disaffected and unemployed.

“A sharp increase in travel costs would hit students in rural communities particularly hard.  We risk denying these young people access to the skilled opportunities in vocational sectors that are available to their city counterparts.

“There is also a wider community impact that needs to be considered.  Public bus routes reliant on student passengers could either be scaled back or removed altogether, with potentially widespread knock-on impacts for other members of the community, including some of the most vulnerable.

“The loss of the transport subsidy would come on top of the Government’s removal of the Educational Maintenance Allowance, which provides financial support to 53% of our 16-18 students.  Taking away subsidised travel for students is cut too far that will prevent some of our young people from accessing the skills and training they need to secure their futures.”    

Students from City College Norwich will be gathering outside the College from 10am on Monday, before they march at 11am to County Hall.