University grants scrapped.
As of last Monday, students starting university courses in England will no longer be able to receive maintenance grants.
The change, announced in 2015 by Chancellor George Osborne, condemns poorer students into a ‘lifetime of debt’, according to the NUS, with the move deemed as ‘disgraceful’.
The vice-president of the NUS, Sorana Vieru, says that the move: “punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds.
“It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse.
“We also know that mature students are way more debt-averse than younger students and BME students perceive student debt on a par with commercia...