Nick Clegg has asked for people to suggest ways in which the government can do more with less money.  Looking at this question from the perspective of a teacher, the first suggestion I would have made would have been to stop the money being spent on the development and promotion of the new National Diplomas, but the coalition had the sense to do this in its first week.  I teach the IT Diploma and have no doubt that it is a good qualification, but it really did not need to cost anything like the millions of pounds I have seen pumped into it.

My other early thoughts on doing more with less include capping or reducing the fees paid by schools to exam boards for examinations.  These examinations cost a huge amount of money that I feel could be reduced if more pressure was put on the examination boards to do so.

Every year I find it bewildering that universities continue to print and post hard copies of prospectuses to prospective students.  I expect this is not only bad for the environment in the printing and transporting of these weighty tomes, but also requires far more editorial input than simply putting this information solely on the web.  If I was paying to go to university right now, I would not want my fees squandered on these prospectuses.

I also wonder how much waste there is in the admissions system, with students offered places based on their predicted grades.  Wouldn’t it be far better to move A Level examinations forward to late April / early May as is the case in some other examination systems already in operation in the UK.  This way students could apply to university based on their actual results.  This may reduce the number of universities students apply to and reduce the number of admissions tutors needed to process this, saving both time and money.

I am glad that people are being asked what changes we could make to do more with less, as it is true we do really know the system and see the waste each and every day.

To suggest your own changes click here