Commenting on the news that the Government is cutting grants for new higher education students from September 2009, Martin Freedman, head of pay, conditions and pensions at AMiE partner the Association of Teachers Lecturers (ATL), said:
“The Government’s higher education policy is contradictory and confusing. First it says it wants 50% of young people to go on to higher education, now it announces a limit on the number of new students. The Government had also said it wanted to widen participation in higher education, but it has cut the amount a student’s family can earn and be eligible for a grant. Although this is supposed to affect so-called middle income families, the reduced family income threshold means students will be hit if they have two parents who earn no more than an average salary. The Government’s funding errors should not be allowed to affect the life chances of young people.”
