Salford students stand to lose out as the government announce the scrapping of maintenance grants and further restrictions on international students.

The University of Salford Students’ Union has condemned the decision by the government to scrap maintenance grants. Currently maintenance grants are paid to over 6,700 Salford students with a value of nearly £21million. Across Greater Manchester over 30,000 students will lose £100 million in government grants, to be replaced by further student loans.

Alongside this the Government have announced further restrictions on international students, restricting their rights to find skilled work after graduation.

Vice President Ahmed Rafiq said

 “The maintenance grant helped students immensely in terms of meeting their basic needs and paying rent or bills of their accommodation, this support allowed many of the most disadvantaged students to aspire to go to University. Replacing grants with more loans will mean that students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds will have to take on an extra £13,500 of debt before they’ve even graduated. This will make education only viable for students from rich families, every student should have the right to affordable education irrespective of their family income.

Not content with targeting UK students the government have also announced another attack on international students. International students contribute greatly to the economy of Salford, with most paying far higher fees than UK students, without student loans to support them. Restricting their ability to find skilled jobs after graduation ignores the great contribution international student make to our society.

University of Salford Students’ Union condemns this decision strongly and will be campaigning against it. “