LECTURERS at a college looking to make a merger say they will fight to save dozens of jobs after it was announced 20 per cent of teaching staff will be shed.

Barnet College, which is looking to merge with neighbouring Southgate College, is making redundancies in a bid to save cash after facing cuts from Government grants.

In the merger plans the two institutions project staff savings of £4m.

However, staff at Barnet College say the redundancies will be a threat to disadvantaged groups claiming courses for people looking to learn English are chief amongst those under threat.

After a round of voluntary redundancies last month University and College Union (UCU) representatives say the college will not rule out compulsory redundancies.

UCU branch secretary at Barnet College, David Armstrong, said: “We are not blind to the troubles facing the further education sector and realise that there will have to be difficult decisions made.

“We will certainly continue to work closely with senior management with a view to finding an equitable outcome that, most importantly, also guarantees educational quality for our learners.

“In the meantime we intend to campaign vigorously and publicly against these cuts.”

Lecturers also questioned how a range of courses could be maintained with such a large staff reduction.

UCU Barnet College branch chair Noel Murphy said: “Our members are angry and are determined to fight these disproportionate and unjust job cuts.

“We cannot see how the cuts can be reconciled with the college’s policy to maintain the breadth and excellence of teaching and learning and improve success rates in a merger with Southgate College.

“Increased workloads would do the exact opposite. We do not accept the argument that other costs are non-reducible and take priority over teaching.”