Latest news with #StudentAwardsScheme
BBC News
15-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Funding constraints prevent tuition fee threshold rise
Calls to increase disability support and the lower income thresholds for tuition fees help for Manx students have not been accepted by ministers. Last month the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made 13 recommendations to reform the government's Student Awards Scheme. In response, the Council of Ministers accepted the majority of proposals, but did not make commitments to increasing lower thresholds of of Tynwald Laurence Skelly said: "Certain recommendations require amendments to ensure that they align with our existing objectives, timescales and budgetary constraints." In March, the PAC said while the grants had been increased in line with inflation, the income levels to qualify for the full funding had lower end of the income threshold is currently £21,547, a figure the PAC recommended should be "uplifted to at least £30,388", with the thresholds adjusted each year in line with the response from the Council of Ministers amended two recommendations that would commit the government to increasing baselines. Instead there is a recommendation to consider the change. 'Strike a balance' The ministerial report said there needed to be "caution regarding the department's current funding constraints... and must be mindful of its financial limitations".It said: "Any adjustment to maintenance grant thresholds will need to be made within the department's current budget and possibly at the cost of other areas."It is imperative that the department strike a balance between this initiative and our other financial commitments."Among other recommendations, the PAC had also called for higher levels of financial support for those with a disability, to at least £2,600 for the annual ministers amended this recommendation to review and analyse the feasibility of an increase, rather than accept. The report said: "These need to be considered within the context of the department's current budget."But a number of other recommendations were accepted. Ministers agreed to review the awards scheme to make sure its policies were aligned with the "educational aims in the Island Plan".They also agreed to consider alternative options for eligibility criteria to access support. Currently, a person currently must have 80 UCAS points to qualify, but ministers accepted calls to include other qualifications to address skills shortages on the island. They "acknowledged that academic achievement is not the only indicator of a student's potential for success" and said it would look to consider other relevant experience and the PAC called for the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to submit a report to Tynwald with an implementation plan by May ministers amended this to be debated in May 2026. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tuition fee aid for low income families 'worrying'
Financial support for university tuition fees for Isle of Man students is putting lower income households at a disadvantage, a report has found. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published its review into the government's Student Awards Scheme. It said while the grants had been increased in line with inflation, the income levels to qualify for the full funding had not. The report said it was "worrying to note" that for a student to receive a full maintenance grant, parents or other contributors "must be earning less than the minimum wage". That was making higher education "unaffordable" for lower income households, it said. The report also found that over time the proportion of students from lower income households who were eligible for a full grant "has been reducing". The PAC made 13 recommendations, which are due to be debated in Tynwald later this month. The lower end of the grant's income threshold is currently £21,547, a figure the PAC recommended be "uplifted to at least £30,388", with the thresholds adjusted each year in line with inflation. It has also called for a review into the awards scheme to make sure its policies were aligned with the "educational aims in the Island Plan". It noted disparities with support available for students studying on the island, who received £2,700 less than those travelling to study away from home. "The differential appears to be greater than the likely cost of travel," the report said, adding that there were no incentives to study locally. It called for the education department to review the support provided to put it on an equal footing, with the exception of travel costs, in the future. Eligibility criteria for support is based on residency, academic achievement and household income. While currently a person must have 80 UCAS points to qualify, the PAC said alternative options should be considered. It suggested that including other qualifications at the same level would help to address skills shortages on the island. Among other recommendations, the PAC called for higher levels of financial support for those with a disability, and a Tynwald review into how incentives could address an island skills gap. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Student pay awards reviewed amid tuition fee rise Island students to pay same fees as UK residents Public Accounts Committee Student Awards Report 2024-25 Tynwald - Parliament of the Isle of Man
