The Government will pay the student support costs for full time undergraduate entrants to science, technology, engineering and maths subjects - areas which will equip young people with the skills they need for the jobs of the future.
The Government is taking this action to invest through the downturn and build a stronger Britain at a time when applications to universities are at their highest ever.
Today’s announcement builds on the record numbers of students currently at university and the record number of places on offer.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said:
“By making available 10,000 extra places in science, technology and maths we are not only helping more individuals with the ambition and ability to go to university but also investing in this country’s future.
“Our expansion of higher education is more important now than ever as we continue to invest in a highly skilled workforce to win the jobs of the future and lead the way in building Britain’s future.”
The Government will fund financial support for the extra students over the duration of their higher education course. For full time students this includes maintenance grants and loans to cover tuition fees. Today’s funding is in addition to more than £5 billion the Government is already spending on student support this year.
This is a fiscally neutral change - the costs of supporting the extra students will be met through reprioritising existing budgets and reducing the optional five year holiday on repayment of student loans to two years.
This additional funding for student support, which will be reprioritised from within existing BIS budgets, comes after discussions between the Government and the HE sector on managing increased demand with institutions having said they are able to recruit more students without compromising the quality of their offer.
Higher Education Minister David Lammy said:
“In tougher times it is right that we continue to invest which is why we are providing funding today to help meet some of the unprecedented demand to study at university.
“This Government has hugely expanded higher education with 300,000 more students at university than in 1997 supported by a 25 per cent increase in funding over the same period.
“We want to support people with the ability and talent to go to university because it is good for those individuals and the future of our economy.”
Notes to editors
1. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills will promote open and competitive markets, proportionate regulation, an enterprise and innovation culture, skilled people, thriving universities, life-long learning and world-class science, technology and research.
2. Our university sector is world class. Government spending on higher education is over 25 per cent higher in real terms than in 1997. Next year alone the overall budget has increased by just over four per cent to over £7.5 billion. This means funding for research can rise by around eight per cent and teaching by two and half per cent.
3. There are currently record numbers of students at university with 300,000 additional students in the system since 1997. Inclusive of today’s announcement, this year we expect there to be 50,000 more accepted applicants than just three years ago.
4. Earlier this year the Government confirmed funding for additional students in its letter to HEFCE including additional teaching grant funding for the equivalent of an extra 10,000 full-time-equivalent places in 2009-10. This money can be spent on providing full-time undergraduate places, part-time and postgraduate provision. Full time figures for this year include 3,000 additional first year entrants.
5. The funding announced today is targeted exclusively at full-time undergraduate entrants. No additional teaching grant from HEFCE will accompany today’s additional places. It is up to individual institutions whether or not or how many places they want to offer on this basis and we will ask HEFCE to oversee this process.
6. The repayment holiday on student loans was announced in July 2007. All students starting a higher education course in 2008/09 or later, taking out their first student loan and having a repayment start date of April 2012 or later are entitled to a repayment holiday. The intention is to help borrowers to manage their finances if there are other changes in their lives. Qualifying borrowers will now be offered the choice of putting their student loan repayments on hold for up to two years as opposed to up to five years announced in July 2007.