When the media first reported that the government were planning on scrapping matenance grants my boyfriend and I were talking about it.
He wasn’t eligible for one due to his parents income. I was given full grants and loans due to my dad being retired. I wouldn’t have been able to afford to go to university without this grant and I worked too.
I then thought about how many of my friends would have recieved the maintenance grant. I realised that it was quite a few. All of them couldn’t have attended university without these grants. That means there’s a generation of teachers, doctors and solicitors who all got to where they are because they were supported.
I went to university when the fees were £3000. My PGCE cost more than my three years of university and doubled the amount I owe to student finance.
What worries me, in a time when there is already a teacher shortage, does this mean that more people will be put off university because they haven’t got the finances to attend?
clareenolan 