Further education colleges are likely to be treated as “big schools” by the government and lose critical financial independence, after a ruling reclassified colleges in England as part of central government.
Sector leaders said the change had major implications for the way FE colleges are run, removing their autonomy over borrowing and investment decisions and hampering their ability to grow, while allowing few of the benefits in funding, taxes or pension guarantees enjoyed by state schools.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) ruling that new government legislation – allowing the Department for Education (DfE) to intervene directly in the operation of colleges – means they are state controlled and their finances should be included in the government’s accounts.
