Joint strategy key to participation

More joint strategic planning between further and higher education is needed if government targets for widening participation are to be achieved, according to a report by the Learning and Skills Development Agency, writes Tony Tysome.

It says the Learning and Skills Council and colleges should be more involved in the planning process for higher education to build stronger links and easier pathways between the sectors.

The report, Closer by Degrees , argues that incoherent policy on higher education delivered in colleges over the past 15 years, combined with a dual system of post-16 funding, have "created confusion and reinforced imbalance of power between the sectors".

The report says government proposals for higher education growth cannot be left to market forces, but should be backed up with more regional partnerships between colleges and universities.

New centres of vocational excellence are being developed in colleges and could provide the key to regional development by enhancing vocational routes into universities, the report suggests.

Chris Hughes, chief executive of the LSDA, said: "There is an urgent need for greater coherence about the relationship between higher and further education at the levels of policy, planning, practice and quality improvement, as well as a shared understanding of the distinctive roles that the colleges and universities have."