He said he had earmarked the funds for new projects including numerous further education colleges.
Many of Scotland's 40 further education colleges are currently in the process of a series of mergers.
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It allows the degree-awarding powers of a university to combine with the local reach of further education colleges.
The research was supportive of the work of further education colleges, but was sceptical about reports of progress.
It covers students studying for degrees at university or taking Higher National Diplomas or Certificates at further education colleges.
Scotland's 41 further education colleges are now facing a potential raft of mergers.
Dr Huppert asked the Mr Alexander about the VAT paid by sixth form colleges and further education colleges in 2012.
The tables include schools without sixth forms, schools with sixth forms, and further education colleges that take only 16-18-year-old students.
Scotland's further education colleges look set to return to national pay and conditions, ending more than 20 years of separate contracts.
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"We will therefore remove the barriers to more provision from the Open University, further education colleges and private providers, " he told MPs.
Further education colleges inspected for this year's report also met assembly government targets, with 81% of work described as "good" or "very good".
Ministers have warned universities that they could be undercut by new providers offering courses at a lower cost - including further education colleges.
Further education colleges all over the country are accustomed to helping people with all sorts of special needs to get retrained for well-paid employment.
This would allow Scottish Ministers to recover the costs of Education Scotland carrying out inspections in independent further education colleges and English language schools.
Fforwm - the association of further education colleges in Wales - said it did not wish to comment on specific circumstances in individual colleges.
First, they lost control of polytechnics, then of further education colleges.
The trial this year involved 155 schools, sixth form centres and further education colleges, selected to be broadly representative of the whole state and independent sectors.
But that hasn't satisfied our Lib Dems who have pledged to continue their campaign until there's a fairer deal for sixth forms and further education colleges.
The committee then unanimously agreed to approve the draft Public Services (Recovery of Expenses in respect of Inspection of Independent Further Education Colleges and English Language Schools) (Scotland) Order 2012.
Sixth form and further education colleges are usually in main towns - and if students are not on the route of buses, they will depend on lifts to bus stops.
Further education colleges and schools would have to create attractive learning programmes, but everyone had to play their part - resources from government, commitment from employers and motivation from families, he said.
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The lecturers - who are members of the EIS union - said they had not been offered any increase in their salaries this year, unlike staff at other further education colleges in Scotland.
In the tables, we are also offering the option of seeing which institutions have performed best in Advanced GNVQs, to reflect the long-standing concern that ranking institutions by A level results automatically disadvantages further education colleges, which tend to have a more vocational, less academic focus.
An ASCL survey suggested that more than 80% of heads of further education colleges, sixth form colleges and schools with sixth forms believed they would have to reduce the choice of courses they offered while 83% said they believed this age group should attract more rather than less funding than younger pupils.
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However, Labour has also discouraged competition between further-education colleges and taken powers to stop universities from charging top-up fees.
And in the past four years, the number of students at England's further-education colleges has risen by a third, despite a slight fall in their real funding.
Further-education colleges are where illiterate people have traditionally been helped, but Sir Claus points out that people who have failed at school may not fancy going back to a school-type environment.
On the published figures, further education and sixth form colleges did account for most of the worst performers.
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Underperforming further education (FE) colleges in England are to face a tougher regime, as the government launches its skills strategy.
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