Access to financial support for students in further education (FE) is no better than a lottery, according to new research by the independent Policy Studies Institute.

Funds are not being distributed fairly or targeted to those in need and poor students get very different treatment depending on their age, where they live, which college they attend and what course they study.

The Funding Lottery: student financial support in further education, by Alicia Herbert and Claire Callender, examines all forms of financial support, from discretionary grants and hardship/ Access funds to tax relief and social security benefit. Its findings represent a comprehensive indictment of current funding policies, which are condemned as ‘totally inadequate and unfair.’

Although it is ‘beyond question’ that financial aid can help to widen participation in education and reduce drop-out rates, particularly among low-income groups, levels of funding have actually deteriorated in recent years, resulting in a further shift in financial burden onto individual students.

‘Two key sources of government funding for FE students are discretionary awards and Access funds’ said Claire Callender. ‘However, both systems have become no better than a lottery. Receipt of discretionary awards depends on where students live and what they study. Receipt of Access funds depends on which college students attend. Their distribution has little if anything to do with financial need or academic merit. The system favours young, full-time students while penalising adult and vocational students and those studying part-time.’

Among the key findings:

• Only 162,000 from a total of 3 million FE students in England received discretionary grants in 1994/95 (5%). By contrast, three quarters of all full-time students in higher education (HE) received a mandatory grant from their local authority.

• Since 1992/93, expenditure on discretionary awards has fallen by a third and the overall value of awards has fallen by 30% since 1990/91.

• In 1994/95, the average value of an award for the minority who received them was £665. By contrast, the average value of a mandatory maintenance grant for HE students living at home was £1,327.

• Access funds - for students in financial need - are also a lottery, according to the report. In 1995/96, only 1.5% of FE students received access funds, which were worth on average £95. By contrast, 5% of HE students received access funds with an average value of £358.

• At least 100,000 FE students rely on social security benefits, but these have become an insecure source of funding since the Job Seekers’ Allowance restricted study to 16 guided learning hours a week, so discouraging unemployed people from studying.

• The number of Career Development Loans awarded to students fell by 12% between 1994/5 and 1995/6 but only a very small minority receive them.

The authors call for a comprehensive system of financial support which operates nationally and which is transparent and flexible, balancing the needs of different types of students.

‘Further Education students remain second class citizens, compared to those in Higher Education’ said Claire Callender. ‘We welcome the government’s examination of the allocation of discretionary and Access awards but ministers must also consider the impact of policy changes in a much wider range of funding sources if they are committed to widening participation and encouraging lifelong learning.’

Contact:        Neil Churchill on       0171 468 2236 (direct) or
                                        0171 468 0468 (switchboard)

1. The Funding Lottery is available from Grantham Books, on 01476 541080, priced £15.

2. PSI is a registered educational charity (no. 313819) and has no association with any political party, pressure group or commercial interest.