With increasing numbers of students at every level of education, the challenges of funding and the pressures upon finances have been steadily growing. Add the global economic crisis and continuing economic instability and the challenges are clear. Education forms at least part of the solution to current economic issues, so reducing provision is simply not an option. Innovative funding mechanisms will need to be found to sustain and develop education.

To date, education has been funded in a range of ways, including financing of students by their families, by private organisations and by governments. The influence and impact upon education of new funding methods should also be considered. It seems reasonable to expect that if individuals contribute more they may take a different approach to the purpose of education, the subjects they choose to study and their expectations of the opportunities that will ensue.

This session will reflect on the economic case for education, options for financing it at different levels and their impact upon expectations of the benefits of education. It will include examples of policies and practices designed to sustain and develop education systems and institutions.