There’s no such thing as a free lunch but, this year, there are plenty of free courses. The course brochures for 2002-3 have more free offers. Adults taking courses in this year’s bite-sized initiative do not have to pay. The Government insists on no cost to any basic skills learner.
And, from September, 16 to 18-year-olds will not have to pay exam or registration fees in publicly-funded colleges. Courses have been free for full-time 16 to18-year-olds for many years. Last year, part-time 16 to18s got in free.
What is new this year is the prohibition on extra charges. The outcome - and no doubt the purpose - is to create a continuous entitlement to free education up to the age of 18. Over 18, there is a significant range of concessions linked to various benefits and courses. Over a decade, the balance has shifted decisively from fee to free. If you are paying a fee in a public-sector college, you are in a minority.
Abolishing charges is a popular thing for governments to do, particularly Labour governments. There are several good arguments in favour of using general taxation to deliver public services free at the point of use. In the same year as the Government is abolishing sixth-form registration fees, it has also got rid of museum entry charges. Research shows that even the smallest charge can act as a barrier to people on low incomes. Visit the Science Museum this summer and you will see how free entry increases participation.
The policy of offering education and training free at the point of use does not stop here. The Treasury’s pound;40 million employer training pilots take it one step further. The pilots will test various approaches for upgrading the skills of the workforce. Local learning and skills councils will manage the pilots in six parts of England, but one thing all pilots will have in common is free courses to take workers up to NVQ level 2, as well as some form of compensation for employers who let workers train. The principle is being established that a wider range of courses should be free.
Anyone familiar with daily life in colleges will realise that free courses for employees are nothing new. Countless regeneration schemes offer just this. It was only yesterday that armies of employees were getting free training courtesy of employer franchising. This put considerable pressure on the Further Education Funding Council budget. The Government stepped in to insist on controls and a greater contribution from employers. The target for this started at pound;35m, rising to pound;60m in 2000-1.
It should now be clear that there are mixed messages. While one part of government encourages free courses, another part points to the lack of income generation. At the same time as Number 11 Downing Street is promoting free courses for employees, Number 10‘s performance and innovation unit complains that colleges obtain less than 7 per cent of their total income from employer and employee fees. That 7 per cent figure compares unfavourably with colleges elsewhere in Europe and is - correctly - seen as a problem of engaging firms. Whether you blame the colleges, employers or the Government is up to you.
Limited fee income is a problem that goes beyond college-employer links. It also explains the high level of college dependence on state funding. Published figures show that few colleges generate more than 25 per cent of income from fees. A small minority have market niches in overseas students, distance learning or specialist courses.
The 2002 spending review is so important to the learning and skills sector because there are few other places to go. The only significant alternatives to Learning and Skills Council grants and fees are public-sector grants and contracts. Getting these usually involves bid-writing. Such bids are great for getting a new computer suite, but often barely cover running costs let alone overheads.
Encouraging employers and individuals to pay more for learning has been a long-standing government intention. But little has been done to make it happen. More fee income from those who can afford to pay would make it easier to target resources on those who cannot.
New money could increase the size of the learning sector. But it will take careful and concerted action to bring this about. Blanket price rises reduce enrolments. Increasing fee income requires a better understanding of demand for learning and who is willing and able to pay. We need ways to meet demand that do not simply involve giving away courses for free.
Julian Gravatt is finance director at the City Lit in London.
