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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Help for poor with tuition fees | Help for poor with tuition fees |
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| More students from poorer families in England are to receive full grants for university, the government has said. | More students from poorer families in England 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. |
| Those in families earning up to £60,000 a year will now get some form of maintenance grant. | Those in families earning up to £60,000 a year will now get some form of maintenance grant. |
| The Secretary of State for Innovations, Universities and Skills, John Denham, said the changes meant a "major increase in support to students". | |
| 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. |
| Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the affordability of university study John Denham, Universities Secretary | Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the affordability of university study John Denham, Universities Secretary |
| 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. | 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. |
| "We are wasting the talents of too many young people for whom university study should be a realistic ambition, not out of reach," he said. | "We are wasting the talents of too many young people for whom university study should be a realistic ambition, not out of reach," he said. |
| "Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the affordability of university study. | "Hard-working families on modest incomes have concerns about the affordability of university study. |
| "We need to be willing to change," he said. | "We need to be willing to change," he said. |
| Mr Denham said the changes would cost an extra £400m and would mean that about 50,000 more students every year will benefit from full maintenance grants worth over £2,800. | |
| 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. |
| The government has made a commitment to get half of young people into higher education by 2010. | |
| UK picture | |
| The situation varies across the UK. The Scottish government recently announced plans to scrap the £2,000 fee paid by students after graduation. Draft legislation is expected in the autumn, with the aim of the move coming into force by April. | |
| The Assembly in Cardiff has responsibility for education in Wales. Welsh universities can charge £3,000, but students living in Wales will pay only £1,200 and the rest will come from the Assembly government. | |
| Students from other parts of the UK will pay the full £3,000. Welsh students who go to colleges outside Wales will also usually pay £3,000 - although they will be subsidised for some courses, such as veterinary science, which are not available in Wales. | |
| The Northern Ireland Assembly - before it was suspended - approved scrapping up-front fees, as Cardiff had, but said this would be too expensive and would contravene equality measures because offering free tuition to all would benefit the wealthy more than the disadvantaged. | |
| The Department of Education and Learning then said it saw no alternative but to match the proposed system for England. |