The grant will be open to about 20,000 new and existing higher education students. Students must be earning £18,000 a year or less and be studying at 50 per cent or more of a full-time course.

The new grant, first announced by the Scottish Government in December last year, came into force today with £12m, £13m and £13m allocated over the next three years. Delivered through the Scottish Government scheme ILA Scotland, the grant will replace the current income assessed £500 loan for part-time students.

Minister for Schools and Skills, Maureen Watt urged all eligible part-time learners to avail of the grant. She said:

"This Government believes that education should be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay.

"Already this year, we have abolished the graduate endowment fee, are providing £16m a year to institutions to alleviate student hardship and have introduced a fairer means test in further and higher education to ensure that support is targeted where it is needed most.

"We also intend to launch a consultation paper later in the year, seeking views on our proposals to replace the current system of student loans with a fair and affordable system of means-tested grants.

"The enhanced support for part-time students - available from today - marks the first step in the move from loans to grants and highlights our determination to ease the financial pressures on learners young and old.

"This will significantly help part-time students, particularly those on low incomes, build up their education and skills and contribute towards our efforts to create a smarter, more confident Scotland."

Commenting on the new support for part-time studiers, Dr Anne McGillivray, Dean of Lifelong Learning at the University of the West of Scotland said:

"This is a great opportunity for all current part-time learners in Scotland and the initiative is to be welcomed. It should also attract new learners into flexible part-time pathways.

"There can be many barriers preventing students from taking up part-time study. This financial boost should encourage more to enter education and work towards achieving necessary skills for their career and personal development."

Responding to the news Claire Baker MSP, Labour's Higher Education Spokesperson said:

"This move will not provide any more money at all for part time students while they are studying. The reality is that student support in Scotland is falling far behind the rest of the UK and this will do nothing to change that fact.

"When you look at the decisions the SNP have made since they came to power you see they are giving small amounts with one hand and taking away much more with the other. The means test changes they have brought in will actually see cuts to funding for up to 17,000 students from single parent families, proposals for a local income tax will actually see over 50,000 students worse off, and most recently proposals for over £12m worth of cuts to student support will see fewer students qualify for any financial support at all in Scotland and those that do will face cuts to the money they receive.

"The SNP needs to fund student support in Scotland properly and rather than tinkering at the edges, they should come forward with proposals to reduce the levels of hardship we see at colleges and universities across Scotland."