Posted: by Verity Hilton in Higher Education
University grants for poorest students axed
The Government has faced heavy criticism on the day university maintenance grants were replaced with loans for half a million of England’s poorest students.
Sorana Vieru, National Union of Students vice president, labelled the move “disgraceful” and said it “basically punishes poorer students simply for being poor".
“So they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds," she told BBC Breakfast on Monday.
“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 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.”
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