Student bursary increase for poorest undergraduates

Support for Scotland’s most deprived students is to be increased, Education Secretary Angela Constance has announced.

From 2016/17 the household income threshold for receiving the maximum bursary will also be raised from up to £17,000 to up to £19,000, and bursaries for higher education students from Scottish households with an income of up to £24,000 will increase by £125 from the next academic year.

“Widening access to Higher Education has long been a priority of this government to ensure every young person who wants to attend university is not prevented by their economic or social circumstances,” Constance told a conference on widening access today.

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Vonnie Sandlan, president-elect of the National Union of Students in Scotland said the announcement was “great news” after years of campaigning.

“Today’s announcement is a strong recognition of the importance of student support to improving fair access and step forward in boosting the amount of money the poorest students have. Crucially, it delivers the increases in grants, further reducing student poverty without adding any worries of increased debt,” she said.

Scottish Liberal Democrats education spokesman Liam McArthur said the announcement was “welcome, but overdue and hardly in keeping with the SNP’s promise to end the reliance on student loans.

“The uncomfortable truth for SNP Ministers is that students from the poorest backgrounds in Scotland now face graduating with more debt than some students who pay tuition fees.”