Whether education is able to secure more funds in the face of competition from other areas is a moot point. Whatever, it is unlikely that HE will see more funds from within the education budget. Consider the following figures supplied by Jeff Rooker, MP. A full-time nursery or primary school place costs the taxpayer about £1,400. For a secondary school the sum is £2,200; £2,700 for FE and £6-9,000 for HE, excluding Oxbridge. There is evidence that in terms of the general good, especially in terms of the behaviour of adolescents, investment in nursery education may be the best bet. In economic terms there is a case for saying that the UK is held back by the lack of technicians, that is, of people who would normally be educated in FE. We might also recall that the schemes whereby universities franchise their courses to FE colleges are attractive to these colleges because they can teach these courses so very cheaply. Over this decade we shall undoubtedly see a growth in FE-based degree-level work. Mr Rooker concluded that by the end of the decade FE and HE would have moved so close together 'that you'll not be able to see the difference' (1993).