Students: Loans

(asked on 7th June 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of restricting eligibility for student loans to people with (a) GCSEs and (b) other equivalent qualifications on social mobility in England.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 14th June 2022

In the higher education policy statement and reform consultation, which closed on 6 May 2022, the department started a conversation on the principle of a minimum eligibility requirement (MER) for access to student finance for those intending to study a degree-level qualification.

The department sought views on what would be a fair and proportionate level at which to potentially set a MER and on proposed exemptions from such a MER, such as for mature and/or part-time students.

The department strongly believe that access to higher education should be based on a student’s attainment and ability to succeed – not their background. It’s important that students, of all backgrounds, are not pushed into courses they are not ready for, and that are unlikely to provide high-quality outcomes for them and good value for money.

In every scenario the department are considering students would have other means of progressing to a degree. This is including by first doing a Foundation Year, an Access to higher education course, retaking their GCSEs or A-Levels, or by undertaking a Level 4 or 5 qualification (for example, a Higher Technical Qualification). Successfully completing any of these would allow a student to progress to a degree, regardless of their GCSEs or A-Levels.

A decision has not yet been made on whether to introduce a MER. The department is considering consultation responses and will publish the government's response in due course.

Our published equality analysis covers impacts potentially arising from proposed higher education reforms, including minimum eligibility requirements. The published equality analysis can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1058933/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.

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