LIFELONG LEARNING II: A SECOND CHANCE FOR ADULT CITIZENS

Our nation's adult citizens are in great need of educational opportunities.

• Millions of unemployed need training and retraining.

• Millions who dropped out of high school or college in their youths are now ready for a second  chance.

• Millions of workers seek the opportunity to change fields, or to advance themselves in their present jobs.

• There is a growing requirement for affirmative action programs in many of our industries, including education.  Career ladder-type programs for women and minority group workers presently segregated in low paying, "dead end" jobs can meet that need.

• Earlier retirement and increased leisure time have created a need and a demand for educational experiences that improve the quality of life.

• Senior citizens want and need programs to enrich their lives, to enable them to use their minds and talent instead of wasting away their older years.

• Prisoners, long term hospitalized persons, as well as to the institutionalized individuals, could make a whole different life for themselves if education were made available to them.

• And thousands upon thousands of young adults seeking post-secondary education are deprived of it by rising tuition costs.  For every $100 increase in tuition, there is a corresponding decrease in enrollments of between 2 and 3 percent.

• The public school system and our a accredited higher education institutions are uniquely suited to meet these needs.  They meet high quality standards.  They have the space, the qualified personnel, the know-how, the ability and experience to work with industry and with the public sector in coordinating programs.

AFT proposes, therefore, a comprehensive program of adult education which would include the following elements:

• Tuition costs at higher education institutions must be reduced.

• Public supported grants, worker sabbaticals, and no-interest loans should be made available to every citizen who wants to resume or continue an education.  We support a GI-bill type of program for all those who have not had the opportunity to pursue their education.  Such a program would reduce unemployment, increase availability of post-secondary education, and reduce welfare payments.  Furthermore, it is non-inflationary.  It pays for itself.  There is no reason to believe that society would not enjoy the same long-range payoff for a universal GI bill as it did for its predecessor 30 years ago.

• Open admissions programs, with sufficient funding and personnel to provide needed remediation and individual attention, should be made possible at all our public higher education institutions.

• Adequate funding for comprehensive, well-planned and well-developed adult education programs in our public schools and by our public schools for those citizens who require non-school based or other diverse programs.

• Career ladder affirmative action programs like the paraprofessional programs in New York City, to enable those of our citizens who have been denied opportunity in the past to advance themselves through education.