Ofqual price index shows rise in exam costs
Ofqual has published its first Qualification Price Index (QPI) report, an annual set of data looking at price movements in the regulated qualifications market.
This year’s report shows overall price increases of 4.5% in 2019, with vocational & technical qualifications increasing on average by 3.3% and general qualifications rising by 5.6%.
Duncan Baldwin, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “It represents yet another additional burden on school and college budgets at a time when their finances are already under strain because of government underfunding.
“The rising cost of these qualifications appears to be at least partly driven by exam reforms and is therefore another unfortunate consequence of the government’s poorly thought-out overhaul of the exam system.”
The QPI uses a representative ‘basket’ of qualifications to track price movements, in a similar way to how the Consumer Price Index tracks the price of consumer goods.
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