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Bad day for students as financial support package cut and visa fees up

26 June 2013

The spending review has proved to be another dark day for students under the coalition government, said UCU today. In his spending review this afternoon, George Osborne announced the government would be reducing the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) from £150m to £50m, freezing student grants and raising visa fees for overseas students.

The NSP was set up to specifically provide support for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to university through financial aid or a reduction in fees. The NSP was widely regarded as a sweetener* to get Liberal Democrat MPs to back higher tuition fees, despite their pledge to oppose any rise before the last election.

Today's announcement means all the support for undergraduate students through the NSP will be removed. The 'refocused' £50m will go to postgraduate students. Student grants have also been frozen. There was bad news for overseas students as well as visa fees will increase, which the union said would do nothing to improve the UK's reputation on the global stage.

UCU President, Simon Renton, said: 'Cutting the National Scholarship Programme means there will be less support for universities trying to encourage students from the poorest backgrounds to attend university. Those students fortunate enough to receive a grant will be much worse off than their peers were last year as the government has frozen them.

'Put simply, today is another dark day for students under the coalition government. It seems a long time ago since any party purported to be on the side of students and this latest betrayal just makes life even tougher.

Commenting on the increase in visa fees for overseas students, Simon Renton said: 'The government's efforts to sound tough on immigration are creating unfavourable headlines around the globe for our universities trying to attract the brightest and best overseas students. Today's news that they will have to pay more to study here will do nothing for our international reputation.'

* Talking about the new NSP in December 2010, Nick Clegg said: 'For too long, too many doors of our universities have been closed to bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Government is determined to throw them open. These proposals will ensure that the most highly selective universities are compelled to offer generous scholarships to gifted students from low income backgrounds.' 

Last updated: 10 December 2015

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