Controversial plans to prevent teenagers going to university if they fail to achieve tougher minimum school grades could be dropped, a minister has suggested.
The proposals – widely criticised for penalising disadvantaged students – are an attempt to “start a conversation”, Michelle Donelan said, adding: “We might not do it.”
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has joined the outcry at the new barriers in the way of higher education, warning youngsters from minority ethnic backgrounds and on free school meals would suffer.
The National Union of Students called the plans “classist, ableist and racist”, saying: “They cruelly target those from marginalised communities and seek to gatekeep education.”
They would see state-backed tuition fee and maintenance loans denied to students who fail to achieve two Es at A-Level or a Level 4 pass in English and maths at GCSE.
Ms Donelan, the universities minister, called the idea “one of the options on the table”, with a consultation underway by the Department for Education (DfE).
“What we have said is that we want to start a conversation on this. We might not do it,” the minister told BBC Radio 4.
The plans are part of a shake-up to slash £5bn from the taxpayer bill for higher education, by also forcing many more students to pay back their loans in full.
Graduates will start repayments with lower earnings and pay off debts for 40 years, instead of 30 – while proposals to bring back maintenance grants and cut annual fees from £9,250 to £7,500 were rejected.
Poorer students will lose out, while top-earning graduates pay less, as the proportion repaying their loans in full soars from around 25 per cent to 70 per cent.
The University Alliance, representing professional and technical universities, said minimum grades would “crush aspiration and exacerbate disadvantage”, jeopardising graduate numbers in social work and computer science.
“If implemented, the casualties will be the poorest and most disadvantaged in society,” said Vanessa Wilson, the UA’s chief executive.
The MillionPlus group, which represents newer universities including Bath Spa and the University of Cumbria, criticised an attack on “inclusion, aspiration and the power of education”.
“On a purely practical level, minimum requirements are likely to be unworkable, due to the number of exemptions that would need to be taken into account,” said Rachel Hewitt, its chief executive.
The DfE’s own equality impact assessment found that restricting access to loans “would disproportionately affect students who are black and from ethnic minority groups”.
Ms Donelan said: “We used to have minimum eligibility requirements in this country not that long ago – two Es.
“That’s what we’re looking at again, as one of the options on the table, with a number of exemptions we’ve made that very clear for people like mature students, part time learners.”
The minister added: “At the moment we know that a number of students feel pushed and pressured into university before they’re ready.”
