The announcement that student loan rates will rise to as much as 12% (April 13) is another government attack on the opportunities for underprivileged students to access higher education that can enable them social mobility and professional fulfillment . Education Mandarins set admissions targets for universities to allow for “expanded participation” – students from poor backgrounds and often bad schools should be offered places with lower grades to make up for their lack of privilege.
From another corner of education policy are ongoing attacks on student loans – already a major disincentive for poorer students. Of course, these changes affect all students, but will disproportionately affect those from underprivileged backgrounds who will fear lifelong debt for an intangible investment in education.
I belong to the privileged elite who went to university with tuition paid in the 1970s. Since my mother was a single parent and earned little, I also received a huge subsidy for living expenses. For the first time I didn’t need a Saturday job. I was able to focus on my studies and writing for Newcastle University’s student newspaper: my entry into journalism and television. I was the first and only woman to edit ITV’s current affairs program World in Action; I then started This Morning and created Loose Women. Would I have gone to university under this government? I doubt that.
Diana Nelmes
London
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