Parliamentary Committees and Public Enquiries
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Educational Maintenance Allowance changeover poorly executed by Government, say MPs
The Government allocated funding for student support for 16-18 year olds for 2011-12 far too late to allow students to make informed decisions, says the Education Select Committee in a report published yesterday.
The Committee’s report on participation by 16-19 year olds in education and training accepts that changes to student support needed to be made, but says that the delay in deciding on allocations and the guiding principles for distribution should not have been allowed to happen.
The report states that the Government should have done more to acknowledge the Educational Maintenance Allowance's (EMA) combined impact on participation, attainment and retention, before it decided how to restructure financial support.
Bursary scheme
According to the Committee, the bursary scheme which is to replace the EMA will inevitably lead to inconsistencies which could distort young people’s choices of where to study. It is not persuaded that bursaries administered by schools and colleges will necessarily be fairer or more discriminating than a slimmed-down, more targeted entitlement such as the EMA.
Graham Stuart MP, Chairman of the Committee, said:
“Young people taking life defining decisions at 16 need clear information on the support they may receive and deserve better than rushed and ill thought through reforms. We accept that changes and savings need to be made but the organisation of the change has been far from smooth. Decisions on how much will be available for distribution by each school or college have been taken far too late, and it is 16 year olds who have suffered uncertainty as a result. That should not have been allowed to happen.”
Transferring data
The report also highlights the difficulty of transferring data between schools and colleges and encourages the Department for Education to do more to ensure that information about pupils’ needs can move easily between educational institutions.
Apprenticeships and careers guidance
The Committee supports the Government’s focus on Apprenticeships but urges it to protect quality at the same time as increasing numbers participating. It also urges the Department for Education to fund the National Careers Service to provide face-to-face careers advice for young people.
