
University goers from poorer backgrounds may be less likely than their more affluent peers to understand the changes being introduced to the student finance system, it has been claimed.
Johnny Rich, editor of Push.co.uk – a guide that offers advice on all things related to higher education, including student loans, universities and gap years – noted undergraduates whose parents have low incomes may find it difficult to get their head around tuition fee rises because they have limited access to careers advice.
The industry expert observed the hike could not be referred to as a graduate tax because Tory backbenchers would have been unlikely to vote for any increases from a taxation point of view.
He suggested, however, that the Conservatives were required to introduce such a rise as part of a give-and-take arrangement.
But with individuals from poorer backgrounds – the demographic the student finance change was meant to help – likely to find it difficult to understand the new system, Mr Rich said of the government: “It was a political compromise which has come back to bite them.”