Poorest students will finish university with £57,000 debt, says IFS
Thinktank says replacing maintenance grants in England hits students from lower-income households hardest
Students from the poorest 40% of families entering university in England for the first time this September will emerge with an average debt of around 57,000, according to a new analysis by a leading economic thinktank.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies said the abolition of the last maintenance grants in 2015 had disproportionately affected the poorest, while students from the richest 30% of households would run up lower average borrowings of 43,000.
Related: The end of tuition fees is on the horizon | Peter Scott
Related: Why would we scrap 9,000-a-year tuition fees when we know they work? | Jo Johnson
Abolishing tuition fees & funding unis out of general taxation would be regressive, benefiting richest graduates, as IFS has repeatedly said
Related: What about the debt we owe to graduates? | Letters
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