Roger Ward’s dismissal of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education’s protests against current pay and conditions as “yesterday’s news” rather misses the point (TES FE Focus, December 6).

Lecturers’ poor pay and conditions are just one facet of the systematic and deliberate underfunding of further education for the implementation of which Mr Ward bears a large measure of responsibility. Furthermore, his activities have promoted and encouraged attitudes among senior managers in FE colleges whose disastrous consequences are filling your columns.

I offer a little prediction: despite the fancy footwork of the past half-year, within 30 months it will be Mr Ward who is yesterday’s news as far as the FE sector is concerned.

DAVID STEVENSON NATFHE branch chairman, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology, 38a Clifton Grove, Rotherham, South Yorkshire.