Commenting on the Education Policy Institute (EPI) report,
‘An international comparison of technical education funding
systems’, Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 and colleges specialist at the
Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said:
“The EPI report highlights how years of underfunding in
technical education, particularly in the 16-19 phase, has
resulted in the UK falling behind high-performing countries
around the world.
“While the government deserves credit for giving technical
education a greater focus through the introduction of T Levels,
this does not go far enough as these qualifications will only be
taken by a small minority of 16-19 students.
“We need to look again at our qualification system to place
more value on technical education from an earlier age by giving
it genuine parity of esteem with academic subjects.
“In addition, while we welcome the recent announcement of
an extra £400m government funding for 16-19 education, including
extra money on technical education, this will, at best, only
reverse a quarter of the cuts that have been imposed since
2010-11.
“The EPI report’s conclusions are clear, and echo what ASCL
has been calling for – that
substantiallevels of additional government funding
is desperately needed if the country is serious about investing
in the future of our young people. We urge the Chancellor to use
the upcoming budget to address this challenge.”
