Student support package ‘the most generous on offer in UK’

THE Welsh Government claims its new student support package – under which every student from Wales could qualify for a £1,000 grant – is the first of its kind in Europe and the most generous in the UK.

Research shows that more than one-third of Welsh-domiciled students have overdrafts, nearly one-fifth have commercial credit and a tenth are in arrears.

The Welsh Government’s new push to get people to go to university comes as UK admissions service Ucas reports a drop in the number of applications for the second year in a row.

For Welsh students, equivalent living costs support in the form of grants and loans will be provided to full-time and part-time undergraduates, as well as postgraduates.

It is hoped this will encourage people who are in work, raising a family or who have caring responsibilities to enter higher education. The new support package is designed to provide the equivalent to the National Living Wage, with the goal that “students can focus on their studies rather than worry about making ends meet”.

All eligible students can claim a minimum grant of £1,000 which they will not have to pay back, regardless of household income.

Students living with parents can claim living costs support of up to £7,650, and the figure rises to £9,000 for those away from home and £11,250 for people studying in London.

It is expected around one-third of full-time students will be eligible for the full grant.

Welsh Government figures show students in Wales spent 46% of their student income on their course, 37% on living and 18% on housing.

Wales’ Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said: “It is important to remember that student loans are only repayable when borrowers earn more than £25,000 per year. Repayments can start from as little as £30 a month.”

Ellen Jones, the president of NUS Wales, welcomed the new approach, describing it as a “progressive and pioneering system of financial support” and “extremely generous”.

She said: “Because we remain committed to taking pragmatic steps towards a fee-free education, I was, and am, fervently against introducing any rise in tuition fees alongside this new system. The Welsh Government listened to my concerns in that regard.

“Financial support for further education students is still an area of concern, and, in line with its vision for a thriving and united education sector, I call on the Welsh Government to introduce a similar system for students in further education.”

The Ucas figures show that just over 5,000 fewer people, about 0.9%, applied to start degree courses this autumn.

The fall is understood to be down to fewer UK applicants, driven by a drop in the number of 18-year-olds in the country. But the data reveals an increase in overseas students, with the numbers of international applicants from the EU rising above 100,000 for the first time this year.

Overall, nearly a fifth (18%) of those who applied for degree courses by this point were from outside the UK. In England, more than one in three 18-year-olds applied (37.4%), an increase of 0.4 percentage points. In Wales it was 32% – up 0.3 percentage points; the rate in Northern Ireland was stable at 47.5%.

Plaid Cymru education spokesman Llyr Gruffydd said the long-term goal should be “a free education for everybody”.

He said: “A central feature of Plaid’s manifesto was tackling the brain drain and securing a return on Welsh taxpayers’ investment in our young people’s futures.”