Commenting on the new Institute of Fiscal Studies Report The state of college finances in England, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The Institute of Fiscal Studies Report highlights the continuing yet avoidable crisis in college funding across the whole of the sector. Real-terms funding was cut by a quarter between 2010/11 and 2022/23 leading many colleges to fall into deficit, with over a third still in that position in 2022/23.”
“As the IFS report points out this has had a dire effect on pay in the sector with college teachers paid significantly less than teachers in schools. A situation which looks to only get worse. The fact that nearly half of teachers are leaving within the first 3 years of starting in the professions is in no small part due to the low pay and worsening conditions in the sector.”
“We cannot go on like this. The Government must meet the challenge of college funding head on with a major funding increase in next week’s Budget, including closing the pay gap between schools and colleges, as well as the extension of binding collective bargaining to further education. If this Government genuinely believes in skills-led growth, a long era of substandard college funding needs to end next Wednesday.”