FE spending is still lower than it was 10 years ago, reports John Howson
The latest spending statistics confirm what further education colleges have long suspected: they are the Cinderella sector.
Schools have recently received substantial funding increases but spending on FE has still to return to the levels of the early 1990s. Indeed, government plans for FE funding in 2001-02 were pound;100 per student below the 1993-4 figure.
The official statistics (see chart) clearly demonstrate how the change of government in 1997 has shifted funding patterns. Between 1992-93 and 1998-99, school expenditure rose slightly in the pre-school and primary sectors, but declined in secondary schools. Expenditure on further and higher education also fell significantly.
However, from 1999-2000 unit costs per pupil rose in all school sectors. The greatest rises were in primary and pre-school, largely because class-size reduction at key stage 1 has been a major priority.
Although funding for secondary schools rose by some pound;300 per pupil between 1997-98 and 2000-01, spending was little more than 3 per cent above the 1992-93 level. Such a minimal rise, at a time when IT spending is beginning to make an impact on school budgets, helps to explain why secondary class sizes have remained stubbornly high.
Similarly, unit funding for special schools only exceeded the 1992-93 level for the first time in 2001-02.
Education expenditure is set to rise significantly over the next few years. Nonetheless, much of the extra funding is likely to be spent on salaries. In 2000-01, teaching staff costs absorbed 60 per cent of primary budgets and non-teaching staff expenses accounted for a further 16 per cent. The equivalent figures for secondary schools were 66 per cent and 10 per cent.
One of the other important issues that the figures highlight is the switch from local authority to central government funding for schools.
In 2001-02, estimated local government expenditure on education and training was still only 10 per cent higher than in 1993-94, whereas central government spending had risen by a quarter.
FE Focus, 31-34
John Howson is a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University and a director of Education Data Surveys. Email: john.howson@lineone.net
