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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Help for poor with tuition fees | Help for poor with tuition fees |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| More students from poorer families in England and Northern Ireland are to receive full grants for university, the government has said. | More students from poorer families in England and Northern Ireland are to receive full grants for university, the government has said. |
| Students whose families earn less than £25,000 a year will get a full grant - up from the present level of £18,000. | Students whose families earn less than £25,000 a year will get a full grant - up from the present level of £18,000. |
| The announcement was made in the Commons by the new Secretary of State for Innovations, Universities and Skills, John Denham. | The announcement was made in the Commons by the new Secretary of State for Innovations, Universities and Skills, John Denham. |
| Students in families earning up to £60,000 a year will now get some help. | |
| Students in England and Northern Ireland have been liable for tuition fees of £3,000 a year since last September. | Students in England and Northern Ireland have been liable for tuition fees of £3,000 a year since last September. |
| The fees are not paid up front by the students, but are covered by a student loan which is paid back once a graduate's earnings reach £15,000 a year. | The fees are not paid up front by the students, but are covered by a student loan which is paid back once a graduate's earnings reach £15,000 a year. |
| Mr Denham also announced that students starting in 2008, once they graduated, would be entitled to a holiday from their repayments of up to five years. | |
| He said the changes would mean that the number of students eligible for a full grant would rise from the present level of 29% to one third. | He said the changes would mean that the number of students eligible for a full grant would rise from the present level of 29% to one third. |
| And two thirds of all students would be entitled to some kind of maintenance grant, up from the present level of half. | And two thirds of all students would be entitled to some kind of maintenance grant, up from the present level of half. |
| "Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the effects of university study," he said. | "Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the effects of university study," he said. |
| The talents of too many young people from low income backgrounds were being wasted and more needed to be done to help Britain compete in the world economy. | |
| "We need to be willing to change," he said. | |
| Tony Blair's government faced a back-bench rebellion when it brought in variable tuition fees. They had previously been pegged at about £1,000 a year. | Tony Blair's government faced a back-bench rebellion when it brought in variable tuition fees. They had previously been pegged at about £1,000 a year. |
| MPs were concerned that students from low-income families would be deterred from going to university because they feared getting into debt. | MPs were concerned that students from low-income families would be deterred from going to university because they feared getting into debt. |