Outrage over ALF squeeze

Many of England's most successful further education colleges, already reeling after last week's college funding allocations, are facing further cuts as the deadline was set this week to create a level playing field for funding.

The colleges, which serve some of the country's poorest communities, stand to lose tens of millions of pounds as a result of the Further Education Funding Council's decision.

Nearly nine out of ten colleges already face budget cuts averaging 7.6 per cent next year, which will mean courses being axed, students excluded and more staff laid off.

Now the FEFC has announced that it is to converge funding to a single average level of funding (ALF) by 2000/2001. Colleges' ALFsvary between Pounds 7 and nearly Pounds 30, while the projected converged ALF is Pounds 15.75. Every FEFC-funded institution will receive this amount per funding unit as its main block of funding. The number of funding units a college is allocated takes account of a variety of factors including student numbers.

The funding council has been working towards convergence for the last four years and it is clear that the move will hit high-ALF colleges worst. Many of these are in London and they maintain that they incur extra costs in the face of the enormous challenges in educating the disadvantaged.

Lambeth College, with a current ALF of Pounds 23.58, stands to lose Pounds 4 million on top of a reduction in funding of Pounds 4.5 million over the past four years.

Principal Adrian Perry said: "That's nearly Pounds 10 million taken out of provision for Brixton and Vauxhall. No doubt if there are riots on the streets in a few years' time someone will stand up and say 'why can't we provide more training courses for young people?'"

Lewisham College, with a lower ALF of Pounds 17.71, still stands to lose Pounds 2.5 million. Tower Hamlets College, with an ALF of Pounds 19.64, stands to lose some Pounds 3 million. More than three-quarters of its 6,000 students come from some of the most deprived council wards in the country. Principal Annette Zera said: "I am absolutely furious about the whole issue of convergence."

But the majority of English colleges support convergence. These tend to be institutions with low average levels of funding which feel that the high ALF colleges receive more than their fair share of funds. The FEFC says that there is no evidence that it costs more to provide further education in inner city areas and has set up a London Costs Group to investigate the claims of London colleges.