LOANS were up and grants were down for students last year, according to the latest figures.
The Student Award Agency Scotland statistics showed that the number of students taking out loans last year rose by 3.4 per cent, while there was a drop of 4.8 per cent in the numbers receiving grants.
Minister for Further Education Shirley-Anne Somerville announced a review into student funding, saying the financial support offered needed to be fair.
Chief executive of Virgin Money, Jayne-Anne Gadhia leads the review.
“It is important to ensure the student support system is fit for purpose, fair and firmly focused on meeting the needs of all students in further and higher education, particularly the most vulnerable,” Gadhia said. “As such, I welcome the opportunity to undertake a comprehensive review of the current systems of student support in Scotland.”
The NUS welcomed the review but questioned why it included the repayment threshold for students loans in the remit, given that the SNP in their manifesto had promised to raise the point at which debt is repaid from £17,500 to £22,000.
Vonnie Sandlan, President of NUS Scotland, said: “If we were starting from scratch, we shouldn’t aspire to the current system. It lets too many students to fall through the gaps.
“We’ve seen welcome, if incremental, progress in recent years to get additional money for both further and higher education bursaries, and that must continue.”
The number of students receiving bursaries or grants fell by 4.8 per cent to 49,815 in 2015/16, while the total cost increased four per cent to £66.1 million.
The average amount of support per student in 2015/16 was £5,720, an increase of two per cent. Among students from the lowest income households, the average amount of any support, both loan and bursary, increased to £7,870, up from £7,730. The average amount of bursary support for these students also increased to £1,700, up from £1,570.
However, the number of students taking out loans rose during the same period by 3.4 per cent to 92,005 and the total authorised in loans was £486.3 million, a 3.7 per cent increase from 2014/15.
The average loan per student in 2015/16 was £5,290, up £20 on the previous year.
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “These are hugely worrying figures, and show that the SNP has slashed bursary support in recent years.
“At a time when we should be doing all we can to close Scotland’s attainment gap, the SNP has chosen to cut the money given to those who need it most.”
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “Figures released today show that almost 20,000 fewer students are receiving grants and bursaries than at the beginning of the last parliament.
“Labour supports free tuition but students need the financial support to get through university when they get there. Instead the SNP has slashed bursaries and ballooned debt.”
The review is expected to report back in the autumn of 2017.
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