MPs this week told the Government that the “alarm bells” were ringing about the state of the further education sector and demanded they listened and heeded.
Barry Sheerman, chair of the education and skills select commitee, persistently questioned Ivan Lewis, minister for young people and learning, about what the Government was going to do about FE.
“This is the sector that deals with the 30 per cent of under-achievers that the Government says it wants to reach. It is feeling more of the pinch than any other sector. This is a serious challenge to the Government. This is an emergency now.”
MPs also asked how the Government was going to stop the haemorrhage of lecturers from colleges to schools because the latter paid more.
Mr Lewis said the FE sector was essential and it should be valued “in the way it should be valued”. Pay and conditions had to be addressed “in due course”.
He was asked when colleges would be funded at the same levels as school sixth forms. School budgets were going up while those of colleges were going down. He could give no timetable and said resources were finite.
Mr Lewis was asked about the effectiveness of educational maintenance allowances in persuading young people to stay on in education and training. He said there had been a 5 per cent increase in participation in the pilot areas.
Only when they got more hard data could they decide whether they would be available nationally. The dilemma was deciding whether the effectiveness of the scheme could justify the huge expense of going national. Ministers were not considering any alternative scheme to put in their place.
Mr Sheerman said there were three priorities for the department: Sure Start for disadvantaged young people; EMAs; and higher education student support.
“You are not going to get money for all three are you? Isn’t there a danger that you will get a bit and bob for all three and it will end up a mish-mash?” Mr Lewis said it was up to Education Secretary Estelle Morris to decide on her priorities in talks with the Treasury.
