College receives grant of £200k for response to Covid-19

New City College has received a grant of £200k as part of the Mayor of London’s Covid-19 Emergency Recovery Support Fund (ERSF).

The money, which was a share of a total £10m handed out to the skills sector, paid for laptops and servers to ensure staff could teach remotely and students could learn online during the lockdown. This equipment continues to be needed during the new challenges that are now being faced.

Many London colleges received varying amounts in this round of ERSF from the GLA, and New City College were delighted to be awarded the maximum available grant of £200k.

Deputy CEO, Suri Araniyasundaran, said the grant would be helpful in supporting NCC’s staff and students to continue teaching and learning in the Covid-19 environment, and in addition, the College would not have to redirect financial resources from other essential investments.

Mary Vine-Morris, from the Association of Colleges, said: “Colleges have worked extremely hard to ensure their students and staff are safe amidst the ongoing pandemic and the Covid-19 Emergency Recovery Support Fund helped many in the capital to cover some of the increased costs. The pandemic is far from over, and as many as a third of students in some colleges do not have their own laptop, tablet or adequate WiFi to fulfil their studies, so this commitment from the London Mayor is very welcome.”