A new report reveals that the funding for colleges and sixth form is going through a major shortage that is the most significant one since 2010. The sixth form and further education colleges in the country have been funded less with a downfall of funding at 16% since the start of the decade. Money received per an enrolled student has been cut from £5,900 to £4,960 in 2019, as revealed by the analysis made by the Education Policy Institute this month.
As it is claimed, the dramatic shortage of the funding is twice the rate by which the overall schools budget has been reduced. As the report discusses, the school sixth forms had been especially affected by the changes in the funding with a dramatic fall of 26% in the period from 2010-2011 to 2018-2019. Among other findings shared by the new report is concerning the fact that almost one-quarter of the local authority schools with sixth forms had cumulative deficits. In addition, the report notices a significant shortage of contact hours during which students have access to teachers which have decreased by 9% in the period between 2012/2013 and 2016/2017.
According to the report, the average teacher wages are also under the impact of the funding cut. The wages in the sector have significantly fallen from £33,600 in 2010-11 to £31,000 in 2016-17. The report comments: “Education for 16- to 19-year-olds has experienced the sharpest cuts to real funding over the last decade, compared to the early years, primary, secondary, and higher education phases.”
David Laws, the EPI’s executive chairman, commented on the findings: “This research shows that for many decades, sixth form and college funding has been the big loser relative to other phases of education. It is not clear why successive governments have chosen the squeeze 16-19 funding, and there is a strong case for reviewing the adequacy of funding before the upcoming spending review. The government should also consider if enough is being done to support disadvantaged students, who are disproportionately concentrated in FE colleges, where teacher pay is significantly lower than that is school sixth forms.”
Paul Cottrell, the University and College Union acting general secretary, shared that he is not surprised by the findings of the report and further discussed: “Severe cuts to further education funding have led to job losses, course closures, and fewer learning opportunities. Staff have seen their pay fall and colleges are struggling to recruit the expert staff they need. The situation is completely unsustainable. If the government wants to ensure that everyone can access the skills they need to get on in life, it must urgently invest in further education colleges and their staff.”
A spokesman at the Department of Education commented: “We recognise that 16-19 funding rates are challenging for all providers at the moments and are looking carefully at this in the run-up to the next spending review. Our school sixth forms and colleges have a vital role to play in making sure people have the skills they need to get on in life. That is why we have protected the base rate of funding for 16-19-year-olds until 2020.”