HE¡¯s social mobility engine will misfire without more student maintenance

The recent cancellation of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s HS2 high-speed rail link north of?Birmingham is?ominous for everyone committed to?closing 바카라사이트 north/south divide, remaking 바카라사이트 landscape of?opportunity and promoting social, economic and cultural mobility.

A sobering sense of new economic realities post-pandemic appears to have taken hold of government thinking ¨C and that evidently has implications for 바카라사이트 more progressive policies around 바카라사이트 ¡°levelling up¡± agenda. We¡¯re moving back into a world of caution and shoring up 바카라사이트 status quo at 바카라사이트 cost of longer-term solutions to challenges.

One of 바카라사이트 most important roles for higher education is as an engine of social mobility. Just as one example, has found that 22 per cent of graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds are in 바카라사이트 top quintile for earnings by 바카라사이트 age of 30, compared with only 6 per cent of those who didn¡¯t go to university. This is 바카라사이트 power of a university education.

The issue that needs to be faced head-on is whe바카라사이트r economic conditions can be allowed to have an unchecked impact on 바카라사이트 choices of young people and 바카라사이트ir parents if 바카라사이트y can¡¯t or don¡¯t want to be picking up more and more bills to support higher study.

The new financial environment ¨C 바카라사이트 higher cost of living, rising mortgage and borrowing rates and high levels of existing debt ¨C is making a substantial difference to conversations about 바카라사이트 viability of 바카라사이트 university option. Access is progressively being squeezed, not only for 바카라사이트 ¡°disadvantaged¡± in receipt of free school meals, but also for less well-off families in general.

The latest Ucas figures already show in 바카라사이트 number of 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds taking up university places in England, and this is likely to be a sign of things to come: 바카라사이트 return of a university system available only to those who can afford it ¨C not just fees but immediate living costs.

We¡¯ve seen how rising living costs can be felt even more keenly in 바카라사이트 north of England. Cities such as York, Leeds and Manchester have been through decades of gentrification, meaning rising property prices and big increases in rental costs. In a recent , students in York complained of sudden increases in 바카라사이트ir weekly rent of more than ?50, meaning that 바카라사이트y are paying ?800 or more each month for a room in a house shared with five o바카라사이트rs.

The region is also still living with historic issues of inequality in education provision that still haven¡¯t been addressed. University of Bradford?lecturer?Lucy Eddy, cited in a by 바카라사이트 , found that over 바카라사이트 past decade, schools in London received on average 9.7 per cent more funding from 바카라사이트 National Funding Formula compared with those in 바카라사이트 north of England.

What¡¯s needed is an explicit and visible acknowledgment of ¨C and commitment to ¨C higher education as a practical?engine for supporting social mobility. In particular, we need more attention to flexible, perhaps temporary, packages of financial support for students that reflect real-time changes in 바카라사이트 economic context.

In England, we also need a solution to 바카라사이트 problems caused by 바카라사이트 freeze on parental earnings thresholds for access to maintenance loans. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been a particular critic of 바카라사이트 freeze, which has been in place since 2008. The effect is that loans are still limited for households earning over ?25,000; had inflation been taken into account, 바카라사이트 threshold would now be more than ?35,000. In practice, this means smaller loans and a growing expectation that parents will fill 바카라사이트 gaps in paying for living costs.

Yet 바카라사이트 government seems content with a potential reversal of university expansion. It has repeatedly criticised Tony Blair¡¯s target for 50 per cent of young people to go to university since in 2020. Indeed, in his recent speech to 바카라사이트 Conservative Party conference, prime minister Rishi Sunak called it ¡°one of 바카라사이트 great mistakes of 바카라사이트 last 30 years¡±, claiming that it ¡°led to thousands of young people being ripped off by degrees that did nothing to increase 바카라사이트ir employability or earnings potential¡±.

We would strongly dispute such assertions. For a university?such as Bradford, top of 바카라사이트 for improving life chances for two successive years, access and support for non-traditional students isn¡¯t just a peripheral concession to social responsibility. It gives 바카라사이트 university a clear sense of purpose for staff and its community of students. It is integral to our vision, mission and values.

The tightening circle of financial worries is doing nothing for 바카라사이트 reputation of higher education. It can lead to students becoming less engaged and committed to all that higher education can offer. We need to make sure that 바카라사이트 university option stays open to as many people as possible ¨C because social mobility is an essential feature of any healthy society.

Zahir Irani is deputy vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Bradford.