UCU Scotland welcomes funding to address student hardship

UCU had urged the government to use the additional £30 million available for student support on addressing student hardship, rather than reducing the debt upon graduation. UCU joined with the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland and opposition parties to provide evidence that student hardship was the crucial issue.

Mary Senior, UCU's Scottish Official said:
'UCU members see the problems caused by student hardship every day with students unable to attend lectures because they are at work trying to earn money to support themselves, or they are dropping out of courses due to a lack of funds. While we recognise that student debt causes real difficulties after graduation, we believe that the priority must be on addressing student hardship, and in supporting students from poorer backgrounds to access higher education.

'We are pleased that the Government has listened to our concerns and those of NUS, and welcome the further consultation on the exact levels of support to tackle the very serious issue of student hardship. We hope that these changes will result in more students studying in lecture halls, rather than stacking supermarket food halls.'