HARD-PRESSED colleges have called for the further-education sector to be given equal footing with universities amid concerns over a funding discrepancy.

New figures suggest colleges are paid millions of pounds less than universities for delivering the same level of courses, prompting allegations of a two-tier system.

Estimates suggest the further-education sector in Scotland is missing out on £14 million every year because of the anomaly.

There are already concerns over the way the Scottish Government has funded both sectors in recent years. The public money spent on universities for teaching has been protected to ensure they remain competitive with institutions in England, who can now charge fees of up to £9000 a year.

However, colleges have faced significant cuts to their teaching budgets. Courses have been cut and jobs lost in recent years.

The most recent figures show 1300 further-education staff left the sector in the past year alone.

The current concerns centre on the amount of funding colleges get for Higher National Diploma (HND) and Higher National Certificate (HNC) qualifications, which are seen as comparable to the first year or two of a university degree.

The money colleges receive per student is £1285 a year for these courses, compared to £1820 for a university student.

Statistics from 2010/11 show the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (Saas) supported 26,205 students in higher education in the college sector.

As NUS Scotland highlighted in a submission to Holyrood's education committee, if most of these students studied for an HNC or HND, increasing the fee paid by Saas for these courses could bring in a further £14m to Scotland's colleges.

A spokesman for the EIS teaching union, which represents lecturers, said the "significant difference" had long been a cause for concern.

"Much of the teaching in many subjects at HNC and HND level compares closely to similar subject teaching in the first and second year of degree courses, so should attract comparable levels of funding," said a spokesman.

"Many universities will accept students with relevant HNC or HND qualifications directly into the latter years of degree courses, so there is clear recognition that these qualifications and the teaching at colleges is of a high standard."

Robin Parker, president of NUS Scotland, said the extra funding could make a significant difference to encourage more college students into universities – a crucial way of widening access. "We could use this funding to ensure HNC and HND qualifications are accepted more widely by universities," he said.

John Henderson, chief executive of Scotland's Colleges, said: "Investing in colleges is of crucial importance to Scotland's future prosperity and economic recovery."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The cost of delivering courses in universities is higher than in colleges, with this difference reflected in the funding paid to compensate both universities and colleges for notional fees which are waived for Scottish students.

“Colleges offer important learning opportunities and that’s why the Scottish Government has maintained college student support at record levels of over £95 million.

"In August of this year the Education Secretary announced a new student support package, which will provide a minimum income of £7250 for those from the lowest income households. It is expected this will benefit around 45,000 students each year, of which a large proportion will be college students.”