University grants for the poorest students have been abolished by the Tory Government. Using an obscure Commons committee, the measure was sneaked through without a Commons debate. Up to now poorer students had been able to get a grant of £3,387 to help with the costs of their studies. From now, the chancellor George Osborne explained in last year’s budget, they will have to take out loans. With the trebling of tuition fees having been one of the first acts of the Coalition Government in 2010, current estimates are students leave university with £40,000 – £55,000 of debt.
And…
Recent figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show the numbers of part-time students starting degrees at UK universities have hit a new low. First-year students studying part time in 2014-15 fell by 6% on the previous year. Overall, the number of part-time first years has fallen by 38% since 2010.
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