With students already struggling to face the prospect of anything up to £53,000 debt at the end of their degree, the news of George Osborne cutting the undergraduate support budget by £150 million won’t be taken lightly. This means axing the National Scholarship Programme – but it doesn’t stop there! The way the NSP works means that each institution that receives this government funding must match the amount of money given to them by the government. Therefore the real figure comes to nearly £300 million, all of which is almost crucial to some of Britain’s poorest students.
The National Scholarship Programme was introduced to England in the Autumn of 2012, set up to help with the costs of tuition fee’s as they rose from £1,000 when they were first introduced in 1998 to a maximum of £9,000 in 2009. By 2012, 64 universities, including Leeds, Manchester, East London and Newcastle, had announced that they intend to charge the full £9,000. In the academic year 2013/14 the Government announced that they had set aside a £100 million contribution to the National Scholarship Programme to help with students whose household couldn’t afford to offer financial support. So what exactly is the NSP? The grant starts at £3,000 and, depending on individual Universities, it could be higher! Out of this grant, a maximum of £1,000 can be given as a cash bursary, and you are only eligible for the grant if your household income is under £25,000. So what are all these facts and figures really trying to tell you? It’s telling you that government funding is responsible for a big part in the affordability of University tuition fees. So deciding to cut this money becomes a bit contradictory when in June, 2006 Osborne said that “spending on education is the single best investment”. Personally, I feel university is set to become part of the ‘elite’ members only – and is that really what the government want?
For this academic year the government gave Huddersfield University 221 scholarships and they not only matched that but offered a hearty 720 more so they could “…give as many students as possible the chance of getting the scholarship.” With only 280 UCAS points needed to fit Huddersfield criteria, it means that one in four of us ‘Freshers’ are funded by the NSP. What does this mean? It means there will be no government input of funding, meaning most of us will now have take out a larger loan to cover costs. Research shows that a student’s average weekly food shopping bill comes to £22.86 across England – and expenditure on eating out can hit up to an average of £15.63 a week, and that’s just to feed ourselves. With students facing the prospects of such financial issues, alarming reports have found 16.5% of the student population have opted into working in the sex industry for a quick ‘cash-in-hand’ solution. Such industries claim to give students an annual earn of £15,000. Now, even though most of us take jobs in bars, cafes and shops, the National Minimum wage for 18-20 year olds is still only £5.03. This proves the reality of such government decisions, and it is often said that politics has become so ‘London-centric’ that many politicians are disconnected with the people that these funding cuts and tax raises effect – and here is a prime example.
For most, the £3,000 grant means there is less to pay back at the end – often making the thought of university more appealing to those from poorer backgrounds. However, here at Huddersfield University, the financial team recognise and accept those from a widely varied background. Already shown in the great amount of budget there is set aside for students, but furthermore, when the NSP is cut in 2015, Huddersfield University say they ‘…will offer something’. Along the lines of a cash bursary – or a reduction in fee’s that will provide support for their students. For us lucky enough to be studying at the university, as well as perspective students, this is great news. However, thousands of students across the country are going to face an uncertain financial future.
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