Boston College joins call urging Government to invest more in education funding

The leaders of all the colleges have written an open letter to the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Education urging them implement the recommendations of the recent Augar Review.

These included stopping the 17.5 per cent cut in education funding for 18-year-olds, and investment to allow everyone achieve at least level three.

David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges said: “It is extraordinary to have every leader in every general further education college in the country collaborate like this.

“But then these are extraordinary times. These college leaders are uniquely placed at the hearts of their communities, working closely with local, national and international business, supporting individuals to get on in life, and driving the social mobility agenda.

“The Government needs to listen to them if they’ve got any chance of tackling the major issues this country faces, now and in the future.”

The letter urges the ministers to “answer the calls from business” and respond to the “challenges of technological change and Brexit” by urgently investing in the country’s technical and vocational education system and implementing the main recommendations of the government’s recent Post-18 Education Review (the Augar Review).

The 203 leaders who have backed the call are responsible for institutions that educate and train 2 million people each year, employing 180,000 staff and they have a combined turnover of £6 billion per annum.

Boston College principal and chief executive officer Joanne Maher said she was “proud to support my colleagues in strongly advocating for such important findings to be implemented. Further Education matters and has an important role to play in HE and social mobility.”

Bev Robinson OBE, member of the Independent Panel and co-author of the Augar Review said: “The government’s response to the outcomes of the well-received Augar Review is arguably a watershed moment for the British government. Choosing to enact the recommendations would demonstrate the government’s commitment to the much-needed skills revolution which our country needs, which industry is crying out for and which will promote social equity for all adults, not just the 50% as it is now.”