NUS UK has hit out against proposals to introduce student loan minimum eligibility requirements calling them ‘classist, ableist, and racist’.
Today, Wednesday April 27, the Institute for Fiscal Studies released its research findings into the impact of student loan minimum eligibility requirements – some proposed by the UK government as part of their levelling up initiative.
Impact of the requirements
The findings revealed an introduction of minimum eligibility requirements would disproportionately impact pupils from poorer backgrounds and ethnic minorities.
The government proposals for loan access would be limited to pupils who have gained passes in GCSE English and maths, or 2 E grades at A level. However, the research found a quarter of poorer students would not have been able to access loans as a result of the changes.
Around 40% of pupils in the 2011 and 2012 GCSE cohorts did not achieve at least a grade 4/C in English and maths GCSEs, and a similar share did not achieve at least two grades E or above in A levels. Therefore four in ten pupils wouldn’t have access.
Impact on ethnic minorities and poorer students
On top of this it found children of ethic minorities would be disproportionately impacted as, from the study of 2011 and 2012 cohort pupils only 7% of white British undergraduates from state schools would have been impacted by the requirements, and around 10% of Chinese and Indian students, whereas nearly one in five (18%) Bangladeshi and Pakistani students would have been impacted, and nearly one in four (23%) black students would have been ineligible to apply.
Poorer pupils would also be impacted as the IFS itself stated: ‘FSM (those eligible for free school meals) and certain ethnic minority groups would still be disproportionately affected relative to other groups of undergraduates, but far fewer students would be affected overall.’
NUS Hits Back
In response to this NUS UK has called out the government’s plans to introduce these requirements ‘classist, ableist and racist’.
The NUS UK President Larissa Kennedy said: ‘This research shows that plans to introduce minimum entry requirements are an attack on opportunity. This Government parrots the language of “levelling up” but these proposals are classist, ableist and racist: they cruelly target those from marginalised communities, and seek to gatekeep education.’