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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Maintenance grants scrapped for poorest students | Maintenance grants scrapped for poorest students |
| (25 days later) | |
| The National Union of Students (NUS) has attacked the government’s decision to replace maintenance grants for the poorest students, saying it will leave them “with a lifetime of debt”. | The National Union of Students (NUS) has attacked the government’s decision to replace maintenance grants for the poorest students, saying it will leave them “with a lifetime of debt”. |
| From Monday, the grants, worth about £3,500, will be replaced with additional loans that will have to be paid back at the end of an undergraduate course, once graduates earn more than £21,000. | From Monday, the grants, worth about £3,500, will be replaced with additional loans that will have to be paid back at the end of an undergraduate course, once graduates earn more than £21,000. |
| Sorana Vieru, NUS vice president, told BBC Breakfast: “It’s a disgraceful change that basically punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds. | Sorana Vieru, NUS vice president, told BBC Breakfast: “It’s a disgraceful change that basically punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds. |
| “It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse. We also know that mature students are way more debt-averse than younger students and BME (black and minority ethnic) students perceive student debt on a par with commercial debt.” | “It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse. We also know that mature students are way more debt-averse than younger students and BME (black and minority ethnic) students perceive student debt on a par with commercial debt.” |
| The change, announced by the then chancellor, George Osborne, in 2015, was opposed by Labour, which said it would hit those from low-income homes the hardest. | The change, announced by the then chancellor, George Osborne, in 2015, was opposed by Labour, which said it would hit those from low-income homes the hardest. |
| Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, told the BBC that students would end up with more money in their pocket overall, despite the withdrawal of the grants. | Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, told the BBC that students would end up with more money in their pocket overall, despite the withdrawal of the grants. |
| He said: “In the past they had about £7,500, in future they will have £8,200. But it will all have to be paid back if they get a well-paid job, whereas in the past around £3,000 or so did not have to be paid back.” | He said: “In the past they had about £7,500, in future they will have £8,200. But it will all have to be paid back if they get a well-paid job, whereas in the past around £3,000 or so did not have to be paid back.” |
| The change comes the day after a new study was released that claimed student debt payments wipe out the benefit of higher earnings for most graduates. | The change comes the day after a new study was released that claimed student debt payments wipe out the benefit of higher earnings for most graduates. |
| The report by the Intergenerational Foundation, looking at the £9,000 annual tuition fees in England, suggested that apart from Oxbridge, medical and dentistry graduates, there is no guaranteed graduate earnings premium – estimated to be £100,000 over a lifetime – for the many young people entering higher education. | The report by the Intergenerational Foundation, looking at the £9,000 annual tuition fees in England, suggested that apart from Oxbridge, medical and dentistry graduates, there is no guaranteed graduate earnings premium – estimated to be £100,000 over a lifetime – for the many young people entering higher education. |
| Speaking in January, Jo Johnson, the universities and science minister, said the maintenance grant change “helps balance the need to ensure that affordability is not a barrier to higher education, while ensuring that higher education is funded in a fair and sustainable way”. | Speaking in January, Jo Johnson, the universities and science minister, said the maintenance grant change “helps balance the need to ensure that affordability is not a barrier to higher education, while ensuring that higher education is funded in a fair and sustainable way”. |
| The Department for Education declined to comment further on Monday. | The Department for Education declined to comment further on Monday. |