The government is to reintroduce maintenance grants for the most disadvantaged students in England, funded by the planned levy on international student fees, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has told the Labour Party conference.
Commenting, Alex Stanley, NUS Vice President Higher Education, said:
“The government has announced the reintroduction of maintenance grants in HE in England. NUS and students’ unions have campaigned to bring grants back for over a decade, and today - we have won. Not only real money back in students’ pockets, but on the principles of grant funding in higher education. That the poorest students were ever given the highest debt was immoral, unfeasible and financially impossible. Today’s announcement is the first piece of tangible action that any UK government has taken to change course on this broken financial funding system since the introduction of £9k fees.
“This has to be the beginning of wholesale change in our broken education system. Let us be clear: we do not welcome the introduction of a levy on international students, and we will continue to push back on measures that impact our members. But, we are ecstatic that maintenance grant funding is back on the table and we know it has to be the first step of many. We are going to do everything in our power to continue what generations of student leaders started - it’s now in the government’s hands to keep moving.”
