Kelly to close college money gap

By Alison Smith
BBC News education reporter at the Association of Colleges conference

Ruth Kelly said she understood colleges' sense of resentment

The funding gap between England's further education colleges and schools is to be narrowed, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has announced.

Colleges receive less money for teaching students - and Ms Kelly is set to reduce that gap from 13% to 8%.

She gave the Association of Colleges conference a longer-term commitment to a common funding system - as striking lecturers protested outside.

Ms Kelly backed the findings of the Foster Review of further education.

She agreed with Sir Andrew Foster that colleges "should have as their primary purpose the building of skills".

'Resentment'

Ms Kelly told the conference she knew colleges resented the gap between their funding levels and those of schools - assessed by the Learning and Skills Development Agency at 13% per student for similar courses.

"I also feel strongly that the gap is unfair," she said.

"I think you will recognise that I can't solve the problem overnight. But I am determined to tackle it as rapidly as we can."

The gap will be reduced by about five percentage points by the next academic year - to a difference of 8%.

A tightening of funding rules for schools in 2008 is forecast to reduce the gap by a further three percentage points - when the Department for Education and Skills "addresses the anomaly" of schools' receiving money for students, whether or not they drop out of courses.

'Wait and see'

College principals in her audience gave the comments a guarded welcome.

Neil Hopkins, principal of Peter Symonds sixth form college in Winchester, said he would gain £1.5m next year if the promise were realised.

CAUSES OF THE FUNDING GAP colleges paid less on average for each qualification schools receive extra to cover increased pension contributions school automatically funded for more pupils colleges lose money if a student drops a qualification, schools only if they drop out altogether colleges receive extra for the proportion of students from disadvantaged areas, schools for the number entitled to free meals Source - Learning and Skills Development Agency

"I've seen secretaries of state come and go," he said. "But she is the first to admit there is an inequity.

"But I'll wait to see if it happens," was his reservation.

"I have always refused to cut anything so that we safeguard choice.

"But we've suffered for it in class sizes over the years."

Felicity Greeves, principal of The Blackpool Sixth Form College, said extra-curricula provision had been hit at her college.

"It's the enrichment areas, activities which give students confidence but aren't measured in exam results which have suffered," she said.

Striking college lecturers protested at the conference

Sixth form colleges like hers had had to spend money protecting "minority subjects" to ensure pupils had the range of choice they looked for. Her college offers between 40 and 50 different A-levels.

She said Ms Kelly's announcement would mean an extra £1m to spend next year.

Ruth Kelly said the government needed time to digest the Foster recommendations and would respond fully in the spring, but that colleges' role as the "engines of economic prosperity went hand in hand with social mobility".

Some principals are anxious not to lose sight of their remit to provide lifelong adult learning while the government turns its focus to employable skills.

But Ms Kelly made it clear the government felt many adults should pay more for courses.

Daniel Khan: £1m short

Lecturers belonging to the union Natfhe staged a day of industrial action over pay to coincide with Ruth Kelly's appearance at the conference - with up to 800 in Birmingham for the occasion. Ms Kelly said: "Direct pay issues are for individual colleges to determine."

The union's head of colleges, Barry Lovejoy, said she had taken a step in the right direction but had not gone far enough.

"Her pledge to reduce the 13% funding gap by 5% next year will not spell the end of colleges' being forced to provide education on the cheap - that will only happen when the gap is eliminated.

"It has been five years since the government first pledged to address the schools-colleges funding gap, so our members have waited too long for too little, despite delivering the skills so central to government priorities.

"Today¿s announcement still leaves enormous difficulties in reaching a resolution to the problem of lecturers' pay."

Shortfall

Daniel Khan, principal of Grimsby Further and Higher Education College, said it was "a gap he could not close".

In a college serving 20,000 students in deprived areas of Grimsby, he had had to use money the college had earned to support courses the government had identified as priorities.

"We've followed the government agenda and exceeded our target for the number of 16 to 19 year olds, which leaves me £1m short."

Colleges which take on extra students do not receive funding for those places. He told Ms Kelly that a brand new city academy opening near his college was receiving 90% funding, but he could get only 10% of the money needed for a new college building.

"Colleges have been so successful, but government funding is just not adequate to meet that success," he said.

The Secondary Heads Association has members in both schools and colleges and deputy general secretary Martin Ward said the "unjust funding arrangements ... have existed for too long".

But he added: "Levelling the gap by decreasing funding to schools would not be acceptable nor in the best interest of students."