Poorest students hit hardest by Government cuts to college grants, says report

The report says the decision to scrap the education maintenance allowance (EMA) - vital funding for the poorest young people - has resulted in those students struggling to continue with their education and choosing between a meal and the bus fare to college. The report also describes the EMA's replacement as insufficient to meet the support needed by the poorest students.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'It is truly shocking that youngsters are skipping meals to pay their travel fares to college. The very least the Government must do is look again at providing the financial support required to give the poorest teenagers in the country a fair crack at an education. We see no benefit whatsoever in consigning them to the ever-increasing number of young people in the dole queue.
 
'The decision to axe the EMA was rushed and ill-thought through and has been a farce from start to finish. Ever since ministers started cherry-picking research to drive through the end of the grant it has been clear to us that thousands of the country's poorest teenagers would suffer.'
 
Barnardo's report, 'Staying the Course'