Making uni loans dependent on grades is grossly unfair

Government plans to ban pupils who fail their maths and English GCSEs from taking out student loans are inherently prejudiced because it will restrict access to Higher Education for disadvantaged students while having no effect on the children of the wealthy.

The proposed ban is part of a package of new proposals designed to roll back New Labour’s drive to encourage as many people to attend university as possible, as well as reducing the taxpayer subsidy for unpaid tuition fees.  Policies such as reintroducing student number controls also aim to crack down on “low-quality” degrees.

Ministers are concerned that some university degrees are not benefitting all students as too many graduates take on a lot of debt to study courses that ultimately don’t lead to careers lucrative enough to enable the student to pay back their loans in full.

Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that almost eight in 10 graduates will never pay back their full loan under the current tuition fees system. Three-quarters of the total amount dished out in loans is picked up by the taxpayer, the IFS report from 2019 found.

There is certainly an issue here and there is a debate to be had about how to deal with it, but if the government’s method of resolving the problem it is to make it far more difficult for poorer students to attend university, these great engines of social mobility, then it should stop pretending it cares about inequality and drop it’s “levelling up” rhetoric.

It’s questionable why anyone should be excluded from studying drama, art or music because they didn’t get a 4 in Maths. Especially as it only excludes those who don’t have rich parents. Equally, why should anyone not be able to study maths because they are not very gifted in English as a subject? This proposal is an incredibly blunt instrument.

There is also not enough flexibility to this ban. There will likely be exceptions for those with learning difficulties, but that doesn’t help people with undiagnosed problems, whether that be dyslexia or ADHD. Neither does it consider extenuating circumstances. Students at GCSE level who are having trouble at home – whether that be family breakdown, victims of abuse, bereavements, illness – may struggle with their revision and exams. They shouldn’t be punished for this just because their family doesn’t have the money to pay their tuition fees.

The plans are already kicking up a fuss. As Glorio De Piero, former Labour shadow minister and now GB News presenter, tweeted: 

Universities have their own entry requirements based upon the needs of the specific course. This allows for flexibility because the requirements for getting onto an arts course should clearly not be the same for studying Medicine. Crucially though, there is a degree of discretion which allows universities to consider individual circumstances and offer a degree of flexibility and this is essential to ensuring disadvantaged students are not excluded.

With this ill-conceived, unimaginative, and grossly unfair idea, the government has shot itself in the foot. The ban is grabbing the headlines over worthy policies such as the £900 million investment in medicine, dentistry, nursing and midwifery, as well as science and engineering degrees.

The government should go back to the drawing board and come up with an idea that doesn’t restrict disadvantaged young people from attending university. They could consider extending the repayment period or imposing a levy on universities with high subsidy rates, anything that doesn’t aggravate the inherent inequality of our society.

The rich never lose out. They can afford to pay for private education for their children and extra tutoring and they can pay their tuition fees. Wealth brings with it an inherent advantage in life and can put you on the fast track to the elite. Many people now in government had this advantage. If they have a social conscience, and believe in levelling up, then they must not pull up the drawbridge behind them.