Graeme Welcomes £30m Additional Funding
27 January 2021
Graeme has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that students experiencing hardship as a result of coronavirus will be supported by £20 million of funding.
A further £10 million has also been allocated to universities and colleges for income lost in providing rent rebates.
To complement this additional £30 million, the Scottish Funding Council is also repurposing £5 million of student support towards discretionary funding for FE students in the college sector.
This all builds on the £37 million package of support that the Scottish Government has already provided to support students through the pandemic.
Commenting, Graeme said:
“This additional financial support is very welcome, given the considerable impact of the pandemic on students.
“Education has been disrupted, but many have also been dealing with financial difficulties around accommodation, for example, and on the job front.
“It is also right that the universities and colleges themselves are being compensated where they have lost revenue by giving students rent refunds or rebates.
“Between the support for students and that for the institutions, this is an additional £35 million being made available by this Scottish Government.”
Matt Crilly, President of NUS Scotland, said:
“NUS Scotland welcomes this crucial support from the Scottish Government at a time when students are struggling. We know many of the traditional sources of student income have been decimated during the pandemic, so it is a relief to know there will be additional funding for those experiencing hardship.
“This support is essential in helping Scotland uphold its commitment to fair access to education. While Scotland has made important advances in recent years towards widening access to further and higher education, the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities and threatens to erode this progress. This funding helps ensure we are not only supporting students from all backgrounds into education, but also helping them stay in education.”
Shona Struthers, chief executive officer of Colleges Scotland, said:
“We welcome any additional funding to support college students across Scotland at this incredibly difficult time. Many of our students are learning from home and with additional financial hardship caused by the pandemic – we are sure that the much-needed additional funds from Scottish Government will prove beneficial to students during this lockdown period. Colleges Scotland will work on behalf of the sector to highlight ongoing challenges.”
Details on the distribution of this £20 million assistance for students will be confirmed shortly. More information on the support available for students is available online.
