No way in to learning without a qualification!

Adult enrolments plummet after funding to access courses is cut

Published in TESS on 7 March, 2014 | By: julia belgutay

The number of unqualified adults studying at colleges in Scotland has more than halved in five years, prompting fears that potential students from deprived backgrounds are being excluded from the system.

In 2007-08, 132,176 adults aged 25 to 59 without formal qualifications were enrolled on courses at Scottish colleges. However, this fell to just 61,327 in 2012-13.

Evidence submitted by Colleges Scotland to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee highlights a significant reduction in access courses in the wake of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC)’s decision in 2009 to stop financing them. The SFC estimates that approximately half the drop in overall college enrolments can be attributed to this.

Colleges Scotland said that adults with no qualifications often opted for introductory courses that might not lead to formal qualifications but prepared them for further learning. John Henderson, the body’s chief executive, said that the term “non-recognised qualifications” could be misleading. “These can be an important route into vocational education for those furthest from the labour market,” he said.

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