Education

Deprived schools in England ‘getting less money after funding overhaul’

Minister are being urged to pause their education funding reforms after it emerged they have resulted in less money for the most deprived schools and more for the better off, according to a parliamentary report.

The redistribution follows the introduction of the government’s national funding formula in 2018-19 to make the funding of England’s schools more fair and transparent.

According to the Commons public accounts committee (PAC), however, the changes – which are not yet complete – have resulted in a 1.2% drop in real terms per-pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools and a 2.9% increase for the least deprived, despite the prime minister’s commitment to “levelling up”.

The government is consulting on the final stage of its school funding changes and a move to a “hard” national funding formula under which it would set schools’ budgets directly instead of involving local authorities.

Before pressing ahead with its reforms, the report calls on the government to assess the likely impact of further changes to individual schools and different types of school. It also highlights that changes to pupil premium funding for the most disadvantaged have seen schools lose out on a further £90m of funding.

Kevin Courtney, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), accused the government of doing the reverse of levelling up. He said: “For all its talk, the actual practice of the Conservative government seems to be channelling money from the worse off to the better off.”

The PAC report paints a bleak picture of delays, uncertainty and inaction at the Department for Education. It accuses the DfE of “dragging its feet” over improvements to provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). The government’s Send review was announced two years ago but there is still no publication date in sight.

It says ministers have also been unable to confirm when their promise of a £30,000 starting salary for teachers will be introduced and the PAC is concerned the DfE does not have a grip on the impact of falling rolls on school budgets.

“Schools are facing a perfect storm of challenges with promises of teacher pay rises, per-pupil funding changes and falling rolls but no clear plan from the Department for Education,” said the PAC chair, Dame Meg Hillier.

“Schools and pupils in deprived areas are being hit hardest by the funding formula at a time when the government’s commitment is to level up. Add to this the ongoing delays in the review of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and some of the most vulnerable children are facing an uncertain future – on top of the impact of Covid.”

She added: “Every part of government has faced challenges but the impact of the exam chaos, funding uncertainties and repeatedly delayed decisions is hitting young people hard and risks scarring their life chances.”

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The government’s apparent lack of concern and priority for our most vulnerable young people is, frankly, nothing short of scandalous.”

Nick Brook, the deputy general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, added: “If the government is to achieve their stated goal of ‘levelling up’, they need to look carefully at the impact their reforms are having.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “The national funding formula replaced a system which was unfair, untransparent and out of date where similar schools and local areas received very different levels of funding, with little or no justification. The funding system now ensures resources are delivered where they are needed the most.”

Education

JAMB orders review of 2025 UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has ordered an immediate review of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) following a wave of public complaints alleging technical glitches, incomplete questions, and unusually low scores even as thousands of candidates have threatened to sue the examination body.

The Board, in a statement issued by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, acknowledged what it described as an “unusual volume of complaints” since the release of the UTME results last Friday.

It said the development had prompted it to fast-track its annual post-examination review process, which typically takes place months after the exercise.

“We are particularly concerned about the unusual complaints originating from a few states within the federation,” Fabian said. “We are currently scrutinising these complaints in detail to identify and rectify any potential technical issues.”.

The spokesperson explained that the annual review covers three stages of the UTME cycle—registration, examination, and result release.

He added that if any faults are found in the system, JAMB would not hesitate to implement “appropriate remedial measures.

“To assist in this process, we have engaged a number of experts, including members from the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, Chief External Examiners, who are heads of tertiary institutions, the Educational Assessment and Research Network in Africa, measurement experts, and Vice Chancellors from various institutions.”

The exam board noted that “If it is determined that there were indeed glitches, we will implement appropriate remedial measures promptly, as we do in the case of the examinations themselves.”

JAMB’s intervention comes amid reports that thousands of candidates are preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the Board over the alleged irregularities.

Many claim they encountered technical malfunctions and inconsistent question displays during the examination.

The controversy reached a boiling point after JAMB revealed in its viral statistical data that over 1.5 million out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for this year’s UTME scored below 200 out of a possible 400 marks

Education

Govt sanctions school for selling position of Head Prefect during election

The Anambra State Government has imposed a one-month sanction on Blossom Fount School, Awka, for allegedly selling the position of head prefect during a student election.

This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh.

According to the commissioner, the school reportedly demanded N5,000 from each pupil aspiring to become head prefect in the primary section.

Chuma-Udeh condemned the act, describing it as an attempt to “sell the psyche of the children to the highest bidder from the cradle.”

According to her, such practices are unacceptable under the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

She said that an investigation was ongoing to examine the school’s broader management practices, with the possibility of further actions based on the findings.

Education

JAMB releases 2025 UTME results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, on Friday announced the release of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, results.

The board disclosed that it is withholding the results of 39,834 candidates over issues relating to examination irregularities.

Recall that over 1.9 million applicants participated in the just-concluded exercise.

JAMB also disclosed that 80 suspects across the country are currently under interrogation for examination fraud, with Anambra State leading the pack with 14 suspects.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, stated this on Friday while officially releasing the 2025 UTME.

He also disclosed that while 467 underage candidates met the prescribed minimum score, 50 were engaged in cheating scandal.