The Government is withdrawing a significant financial contribution to adult education, leaving adults high and dry. At the moment, if you’re aged 24+ and you want to take A levels, or a BTEC, or a level 3 apprenticeship, the Government pays 50 per cent of your course fee. From September 2013, anyone aged 24 and above who wants to study a level 3 qualification will have to pay full fees.
This cut in funding will be hugely damaging to further education, normally a place where adults can get a second chance if they’ve been failed the first time around. How will adults re-train to find work in the current economic climate? How will they access higher level apprenticeships? And how will they afford Access to HE courses?
The Government is introducing a system of student loans into further education, to cover the course fee at level 3. This means if you want to take a level 3 course and then go to university, you may have to take out two student loans. And if you want to take a level 3 apprenticeship, you’ll have to take out a loan to go to work.
This policy doesn’t make any sense. The Government should ‘Keep FE Free’.
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