Elite university ruminates on improved bursary scheme
Cambridge University may offer bursaries of up to GBP4,000 a year to poorer students in a bid to win the argument over university top-up fees.
An announcement is likely to be made next week, sometime near to the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday, which will contain legislation granting universities the right to charge up to GBP3,000 a year from 2006.
Under the scheme, students at Cambridge whose parents earn less than GBP15,200 a year would qualify for the bursary.
The hand-out, which would cost the university some GBP8 million a year to run, would be in addition to a proposed GBP1,000 maintenance grant from the Government.
The university currently has a GBP1.5m bursary scheme, the Newton Trust, which offers GBP1,000 to poor students.
Nearly 1000 Cambridge students would qualify for the bursary.
Separately, hundreds of students have declared themselves bankrupt to avoid the “huge” debts incurred at university, according to new research by the London Gazette.
About 900 students have written off their debts, including Government loans, by applying to the courts for bankruptcy orders.
