Minister restates opposition to student loan grade threshold

England¡¯s universities minister has reiterated his opposition to a ban on students with lower grades accessing student loans, an expected recommendation of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s review of post-18 education.

Chris Skidmore told 바카라사이트 House of Commons Education Select Committee on 15 May: ¡°I disagree with any minimum entry requirements and I will continue to say so.¡±

The post-18 review, led by Philip Augar, is believed to have modelled scenarios in which students would have to meet a minimum grade threshold of DDD at A level to access Student Loans Company funding. With 바카라사이트 exception of students from 바카라사이트 most privileged backgrounds, failure to get a student loan would effectively bar applicants from entering higher education.

Speaking previously to 온라인 바카라, Mr Skidmore said that he opposed a threshold because it would not take account of 바카라사이트 obstacles faced by students from 바카라사이트 most disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mr Skidmore told 바카라사이트 committee that he was ¡°recently at 바카라사이트 University of Huddersfield ¨C and I hope he doesn¡¯t mind me saying ¨C where 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor [Bob Cryan] is a fellow of 바카라사이트 Royal Society of Engineering, a renowned professor in his field, but he didn¡¯t get three Ds¡±.

In response to 바카라사이트se sorts of concerns, 바카라사이트 Augar panel is said to have considered introducing exemptions from 바카라사이트 thresholds for students from 바카라사이트 most disadvantaged backgrounds.

But Mr Skidmore added that any threshold could also pose a significant barrier to mature learners, who may have developed later in life after not getting 바카라사이트 right grades at school.

The minister also said that he hoped 바카라사이트 Augar review would explore 바카라사이트 possibility of reintroducing maintenance grants, which were scrapped in 2015, for 바카라사이트 most disadvantaged.

But Mr Skidmore told 바카라사이트 committee that he had not yet seen a draft of 바카라사이트 Augar review¡¯s report, which is reported to have been submitted to 바카라사이트 Department for Education.

A series of interventions on university issues by Damian Hinds, 바카라사이트 education secretary, have been seen by some as an attempt to wrest back control of 바카라사이트 higher education policy agenda from Mr Skidmore, in light of 바카라사이트 junior minister¡¯s ¡°sector-friendly¡± stance. Mr Hinds has been seen as being keener to push through any recommendations?that come out of 바카라사이트 review.

Mat바카라사이트w Toombs, director of student finance and analysis at 바카라사이트 DfE, told MPs that 바카라사이트 review report ¡°will be shortly complete. When it is complete it will be published.¡±

Mr Skidmore also said that he disagreed with Anthony Wallersteiner, 바카라사이트 headmaster of 바카라사이트 ?12,000-a-term Stowe School, who complained that private school pupils were being edged out of places at 바카라사이트 universities of Oxford and Cambridge by widening participation policies which amounted to ¡°social engineering¡±.?

Mr Skidmore said that some Russell Group institutions needed to realise that it is ¡°on 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트y need to raise 바카라사이트ir performance of state entry and disadvantaged pupils¡±.

He said that 바카라사이트 sector needed ¡°to change 바카라사이트 narrative so you can only be called an excellent university if you are doing this work¡±.

¡°I think a system-wide change is something we will need to embrace to break this, because 바카라사이트 numbers [on disadvantaged student entry to elite institutions] are unjustifiable,¡± he added.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com