The government is wasting money by funding poorly-managed colleges, a powerful committee of MPs has warned, writes Jessica Shepherd at the Guardian.

The public accounts committee said there were inconsistencies in the way colleges for 16- to 18-year-olds submitted information about finances and results.

This prevents the government from judging whether sixth-form and further education colleges are providing value for money, the MPs said. It also stops students from knowing whether the courses that colleges offer are useful to them.

Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the committee, suggested that if the market was to work effectively then it must revise the system.

“[There] must be relevant and robust information so that students can make informed choices about courses and the Department for Education (DfE) can assess value for money. There must also be clear criteria for intervention when providers are underperforming. Neither is fully in place at the moment,” she said.

A spokesman from the DfE said the government had made clear that any under-performing school sixth-form would be “subject to improvement action”.

“This could result in the provider no longer receiving funding. We are reviewing the standards that should be applied to all 16-19 providers, including school sixth forms, and expect comparable floor standards to be in place by 2013,” he said.

Also, the report shows that there has been an overall improvement in the achievements of those undertaking further education over the past four years, writes Jankai Mahadevan at cypnow.com.

Hodge said:

“If the 16 to 18 education market is to work effectively, there must be relevant and robust information so that students can make informed choices about courses and the department can assess value for money. There must also be clear criteria for intervention when providers are underperforming. Neither is fully in place at the moment.”

The committee said that as it stands, the system of further education is complex with colleges generally answerable to both the Department of Education for students aged up to 19, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for those aged over 19. Colleges are also bound to two funding agencies and are accountable to local authorities, governors and students.