Young people lose out under inferior foreign study scheme

ONE of the most petty acts of the Government on leaving the EU was to withdraw from the Erasmus programme which offered students the chance to study in 32 European countries.

Whilst it is true that the Turing Scheme offers the chance to study at universities all over the globe and provides travel assistance for students from a disadvantaged background (Erasmus provides travel support for all students), the cost of living payments under the scheme are lower than that of Erasmus and there is no support for the payment of tuition fees, as there is under Erasmus.

Practically, who but students from the most wealthy of families will be able to take to afford the travel costs, living costs and tuition fees to study in places like Australia or California?

Another disadvantage of the Turing scheme is that it is not on offer for foreign students to come and study in the UK which means that UK universities will lose out financially and culturally.

The UK government could have remained in the Erasmus scheme, but for idealogical reasons they chose to leave and introduce their own scheme. Like Brexit, this scheme is inferior to what we had as members of the EU and it is our young people who will be the losers.

From: Peter Brown, Shadwell, Leeds.

EVERYTHING I’ve read indicates the Government’s Turing scheme isn’t as good as the Erasmus study and work exchange programme for young people it’s meant to replace.

Nothing Universities Minister Michelle Donelan told you persuades otherwise (Turing Scheme ‘will open more opportunities’, The Yorkshire Post, March 30).

Levelling up? They’re having a laugh – at young people’s expense. Covid-19 has cruelly impacted their formative years. Only a cruel and petty government would now snatch opportunity away from them to further its dogmatic efforts to further distance the UK from our European neighbours.

From: Peter Rickaby, Selby.

FORMER Liberal MP Michael Meadowcroft’s defence of the EU’s stance on vaccines is a classic example of “hear no evil, see no evil”. He is obviously still married to the Brussels cause, while the rest of us are very happily divorced. Being an avid Remainer, perhaps he could explain to the fisherman of Bridlington why Brussels has declared that it won’t accept any seafood from Britain?