Clause 17
Further Education and Training Bill [Lords]
4:30 pm
Sarah Teather (Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Education & Skills; Brent East, Liberal Democrat)
As the Minister has said, we are now turning to the most controversial aspect of the Bill. I want to acknowledge how far the Government have moved since the Bill was first published.
A great deal of amendment and a number of reassurances on record were gained in the other place. Personally, I felt rather frustrated when the Bill was first published, as I realised how little consultation had been undertaken with the relevant sector about this clause, but that is water under the bridge. The Government have moved a long way here and we are not opposed to the awarding of foundation degrees by FE institutions. However, we want to be sure that progression routes are in place and that quality is assured; we will deal with some of those points when we come to the next group of amendments.
It is worth making a few comments about foundation degrees in particular. The Minister said that they have been very successful since they were introduced in 2001. It is remarkable that just over 4,000 students were studying for such foundation degrees in 2001, but the number has now risen to more than 60,000 students and, as the Minister stated, the aim is that it should rise further to 100,000 students. Eighty universities currently deliver or validate these qualifications. Forty-six per cent. of these students are taught in higher education institutes and 54 per cent. in FE institutions. In 2006, more than 2,000 foundation degree courses were running. The figure of 54 per cent. of students progressing on to an honours degree is the most important aspect, and that is the point that we were trying to make in the amendment.
I recognise perfectly well the point that the Minister made, that we should also accept that foundation degrees are an important qualification in their own right—an important stand-alone qualification. I also think that some of the concerns that higher education institutions have expressed about the need to ensure that all students can progress to an honours degree, and only to an honours degree, fail to acknowledge that many students wish to progress to other qualifications. The Minister said that many students wish to progress to a professional qualification, or to another form of work-based learning.
Government amendment No. 2 goes most of the way towards meeting our concerns about progression routes, but we are trying to establish whether those routes are guaranteed in practice. We wanted the Privy Council to publish the criteria by which it will decide whether progression routes are satisfactory. I am grateful to the Minister for putting on record those points about guidance, which were extremely helpful.
In common with the Conservatives, as we will hear when they speak, we wish to ensure that progression routes are in place not only at the moment when degree-awarding powers are given, but in perpetuity. The Minister said that if those routes fell down for some reason, that could be grounds for the QAA to step in. He said that, essentially, the same routes are in place to ensure progression with foundation degrees at the moment; will he clarify that? Currently, there have to be progression routes in place for a foundation degree, but they would quite clearly be with the particular institution that is validating the qualification. We are dealing with a different scenario, because the qualification will not be validated by that higher education institution. There might be a range of relationships with higher education institutions, so different criteria are required to ensure it is clear that progression routes are in place. It is easy for agreements to break down, as they might be quite fluid. We have to ensure that the routes are picked up again for the same students. It is not good enough for the routes to disappear and be picked up again in two years’ time if it means that a cohort of students is unable to take advantage of them.