IN A much-trailed intervention into the debate on the cost of higher education to those participating in it, PM Theresa May has announced that the UK Government is to reconsider the operation of tuition fee loans taken up by students to fund their degrees.
Mrs May made her move in an effort to recapture some of the youth vote lost by the Conservatives in 2017’s General Election; particularly in those marginal seats containing university towns, where students voted in significant numbers, reduced Conservative majorities, and unseated some sitting MPs.
Among suggestions trailed by the UK’s Education Department is ensuring Universities do not charge the maximum tuition fees for every course, with a differential being proposed between STEM subjects and the Arts and Social Sciences. Such a move would suggest that the government acknowledges the abject failure of the supposed ‘internal market’ for higher education it anticipated would be created when it trebled the maximum tuition fee payable by students during the Conservative/Liberal coalition led by David Cameron.
While the changes suggested affect only English students, any change would almost inevitably impact upon student finance in Wales, where the government has adopted a significantly different approach under Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, Welsh Liberal Democrats reminded the UK Government that they only need to look to Wales to find what they says is ‘a fair and effective student finance system’.
In 2016 the Diamond Review recommended replacing tuition fee grants in favour of support for students’ living costs. This recognised the fact that living costs are a greater financial concern than tuition fees for students and reflected Welsh Liberal Democrat policy.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams has since implemented Professor Diamond’s recommendations and created the most generous student finance system in the UK.
Whilst the UK Government ended maintenance grants in England, the Welsh Government have created a system that gives students the equivalent of the National Living Wage through a combination of grants and loans. The system is also the first in Europe to provide equivalent support for part-time and postgraduate learners.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Fair Wales Rhys Taylor commented: “Thanks to Kirsty Williams and the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Wales now has the most generous and progressive student finance system in the UK. This effective and sensible approach to student finance is backed by students and universities alike.
“Whilst the UK Government preoccupied themselves with ending maintenance grants, Kirsty Williams has been busy ensuring that for every student in Wales it is your academic ability and not your ability to pay that determines whether you can study at University. If the UK Government want a better and fairer student finance system they don’t need a new review, they just need to look to Wales.”
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