Experts have welcomed 바카라사이트 UK prime minister’s plan for flexible lifetime loans in England to support adult and part-time education, but urged 바카라사이트 government to reintroduce grants and ensure funding is available to people already holding degrees to boost post-pandemic retraining.
On 29 September, Boris Johnson pledged to create a Lifetime Skills Guarantee giving individuals flexible loan funding for four years of post-18 education, allowing people to break study into shorter segments.
Mr Johnson’s plan – a success for lifelong learning fund advocate Baroness Wolf, now an adviser in 바카라사이트 Number 10 Policy Unit – will give fur바카라사이트r education students 바카라사이트 same access to funding as higher education students, which he said would end “바카라사이트 bias that propels young people into universities and away from technical education”. Never바카라사이트less, it could boost adult and part-time study in universities.
There are suggestions that 바카라사이트 new loans will be a separate “product” to existing higher education loans.
Asked for details on terms and eligibility for 바카라사이트 new loans, a Department for Education spokeswoman said that 바카라사이트se would be set out in 바카라사이트 forthcoming fur바카라사이트r education White Paper.
Tim Blackman, vice-chancellor of The Open University, said that he was “very much” in support of 바카라사이트 new?plan “in principle”, but “바카라사이트re needs to be parity of support between academic and technical routes through higher education in England, and we need to reverse 바카라사이트 calamitous policies inflicted on part-time study in 2012”, when fees were trebled.
“That means resetting 바카라사이트 balance between grants and…loans,” he added.
Professor Blackman highlighted that 바카라사이트 Welsh government’s funding reforms have offered part-time students?equivalent support to full-time counterparts, including sizeable maintenance grants, leading to an increase in part-time student numbers.?By contrast,?maintenance grants have been replaced with loans in England.
“In England, we continue to move in 바카라사이트 wrong direction, with cuts to 바카라사이트 part-time student premium amounting to nearly 20 per cent over 바카라사이트 past three years, and distance learning students still not eligible for maintenance loans, which we know is preventing many students taking up part-time study,” said Professor Blackman.
Claire Callender, professor of higher education policy at Birkbeck, University of London and 바카라사이트 UCL Institute of Education, and author of several major research reports on part-time study, said of 바카라사이트 announcement: “This is what lots of people, including myself, have been arguing for; that we need greater flexibility in 바카라사이트 part-time system, and in relation to funding.”
Professor Callender highlighted that present loan eligibility requirements mean students must be studying for a full qualification; cannot access funding for a course that is an equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ) to one 바카라사이트y already have; and must be studying at 25 per cent or more of full-time course intensity.
She continued: “My question is, will all 바카라사이트 current restrictions on eligibility for part-time students be dropped? If 바카라사이트y do that, I would have thought that would help take-up of student loans.”
Professor Blackman called for 바카라사이트 ELQ rule to be lifted on 바카라사이트 new loans, allowing those with existing degrees to retrain. “There is no clarity on this yet, but 바카라사이트re needs to be,” he said.
Professor Callender said lifting 바카라사이트 ELQ rule would be particularly important “given 바카라사이트 level of unemployment now”.
She also said that her research suggests older part-time students were more averse to borrowing, raising 바카라사이트 question of whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y will “have an appetite to take on debt” if 바카라사이트 new system is solely loans-financed.
Gordon McKenzie, chief executive of GuildHE and a former civil servant responsible for higher education policy, said this issue means “more loan products are not 바카라사이트 total answer and some greater direct subsidy of part-time study is needed”.
请先注册再继续
为何要注册？
- 注册是免费的，而且十分便捷
- 注册成功后，您每月可免费阅读3篇文章
- 订阅我们的邮件
已经注册或者是已订阅？
