Petition Re-examine the student loans system to make it fairer for all

We would like to see a more equal, "meet-in-the-middle" system whereby every student is given the same amount of student loan and grant regardless of parental income. Currently, students from poorer homes receive more grants from the government as well as bursaries from individual institutions, none of which they have to pay back. On the other hand, students from more well-off families are saddled with more loan, and less grants and bursaries. There are plans to create a further imbalance in the system by allowing poorer students free tuition for one or two years. The government's belief that students from more well-off backgrounds can be supplemented the same kind of money by their parents is inaccurate in a number of cases.

We believe that the government is greatly overcompensating students from poorer backgrounds, and that a fairer system whereby every student is afforded the same student loan and grant would be an improvement on the current means-assessed one.