Labour is committed to abolishing tuition fees and reintroducing maintenance grants for university s

Labour is committed to abolishing tuition fees and reintroducing maintenance grants for university students in England

• Since 2010, state-educated applicants to university are falling due to absurdly high tuition fee prices.

• When Labour left office in 2010, 71% of state educated pupils went on to university. By 2012/13, this had fallen to 66% and then by 2013/14 it took another sharp fall to 62%.

• Students are graduating with debts of £44,000, which is putting off so many talented young people from perusing a university education.

• Theresa May has done nothing to address the education problems caused by seven years of Tory-rule; instead, she has pursued a host of meaningless and uncosted policies, like a ‘new generation’ of grammar schools, which will do nothing to help the majority of families across the country.

• Higher education should not be a mark of privilege, and we need to ensure that those from lower income families are supported. That is why we will be abolish tuition fees, one of the biggest injustices being meted out on students.

• As early as this Autumn, 400,000 university students will be freed from an average of around £27,000 of debt if Labour is elected next month.

• Although tuition fees will be abolished from 2018 under the next Labour Government, we will write off fees’ debt for students planning to start this September.

• The change from maintenance grants to loans is a regressive policy that will leave students from low and middle income backgrounds facing higher debts that they may never be able to repay. Bringing back the maintenance grant is an investment in our young people, helping them access a university education, and providing us with the highly educated and highly skilled workforce that we need.

• Around half a million students from low and middle income backgrounds were entitled to the maintenance grant, but under the Tories’ change from grant to loans, the would face a much higher debt burden than their more affluent peers.

• English students already face some of the highest levels of student debt in Europe, with the average student graduating with £44,000 of debt;

• This is a particular problem for students from low and middle income backgrounds, who are more likely to need to rely on loans to fund their studies. This means that increasing the amount of debt they face by replacing grants with loans could act as a disincentive that will stop them pursuing higher education at all;

• This latest Tory policy to increase the debt faced by students is likely to exacerbate the growing crisis in the number of state school pupils at university, which has fallen since Labour last left office, with a particularly sharp decline after tuition fees were trebled;

• Reversing this policy is an investment in our young people, and will help to ensure that all young people are able to access higher education, whatever their background;

• By investing in our young people and their education we will ensure that Britain has the highly educated and highly skilled workforce it needs to compete in the globalised economy. 

Scott said: "I'm pleased Labour's policy is to ensure that young people who want to can access University education fairly. The introduction of fees has again divided access between the rich and poor with students having to think about not going because of cost."

"As someone who works with young people I want opportunities for all and accessibility for all regardless of background so everyone's talents can be unlocked."