3rd February 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
The government has announced plans to scrap the last student grants designed to help the poorest students with maintenance costs. The means-tested grants provided the poorest students with up to £3,387 per year to help with living costs and reduce financial barriers to university. From autumn this year, all means-tested grants will switch to loans which students will have to repay after they graduate. The move will signal the end of all student grants, with students now completely reliant on loans.
Labour has urged the government to reconsider the move, warning that not enough consideration has been given to how the scrapping of grants will affect the poorest families. The shadow universities minister Gordon Marsden has drafted a motion to call on the government to reverse the decision, pointing out that the move would negatively affect half a million students from low income backgrounds. The NUS has also condemned the plans, saying that many students are already struggling to meet their living costs.
Further concerns have been raised as the government has also indicated that it will allow universities to charge more than the current maximum of £9000 a year for tuition fees. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has said that the changes will mean more support for students, who will be able to borrow more to support themselves at university. The government maintains that the move will allow more students access to university, however critics have highlighted increasing fees and soaring debt being major factors in preventing the poorest from accessing higher education.