Ex-minister seeks student funding boost

Deputy Inna Gardiner said higher education funding was an investment in young people and in the island's future

Jersey’s former education minister believes some islanders will be unable to afford to attend university unless government funding is increased.

Deputy Inna Gardiner said income thresholds for means-tested help with tuition fees had not changed since 2018, despite high inflation.

She said the eligibility criteria for grants should be updated, and consideration given to the introduction of loans for some students.

The new Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning Rob Ward warned of "unintended consequences", and said "considered and intelligent decisions" were needed.

Jersey's government funds full UK tuition fees of £9,250 a year for students with an annual household income of £110,000 and below.

For each £10,000 a household earns above that level, the help with tuition fees that can be claimed decreases.

But the income thresholds on which assessments are made have not changed since 2018.

And taking into account inflation (RPI) of 29.7% between September 2018 and September 2023, Mrs Gardiner said that households with an annual income of up to £142,685 should now be eligible for full tuition fee support.

She said the situation is "made far worse by the fact that the real-terms earnings have almost flatlined", and concluded that some islanders are being priced out of higher education as a result of current rules.

Income thresholds for means-tested tuition fee support have not been updated since 2018

"The buying power today is much lower," Mrs Gardiner said.

"It means that more and more students lose their eligibility for the student grant, compared to 2018.

"We need a skilled, educated workforce.

"This is the way forward. I can see this is investment in our young people and in the future of the island."

Due to the implications for the government's budget, Mrs Gardiner has called for changes to income thresholds to take effect from the start of the academic year in September 2025, rather than September 2024.

But she said that consideration should also be given to the introduction of student loans, which could complement the existing grants and help islanders struggling under the current system to "bridge the gap".

Nikki Heath from the Jersey Student Loan Support Group said funding should be "fair" and "accessible to as many people as possible"

"If you want to encourage people to study you need to adequately fund them," said campaigner Nikki Heath, from the Jersey Student Loan Support Group.

"And that funding needs to be fair and it needs to be accessible to as many people as possible, and the more changes that there can be that allows that is what we need."

She said cost-of-living pressures meant that students were being forced to spend more time outside of lectures making money, while their families had little choice but to cut their household budgets to help cover higher education costs.

Deputy Rob Ward, Jersey's Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, said a formal response would be published ahead of a States Assembly debate

Deputy Rob Ward said the government did intend to increase income thresholds for help with tuition fees.

But he expressed concerns about "unintended consequences" if the 29.7% rise suggested by Mrs Gardiner was approved by States members.

"I'm not entirely sure that’s the best way forward," he said.

"We have to make a decision in the assembly over the effectiveness of our spend of the money that’s available."

Mr Ward also said he would be "very wary" of introducing a system of student loans, as he felt it could lead to "political pressure to erode away the maintenance and the other grants available".

He said the government would publish a formal response and amendments to Mrs Gardiner's proposition by Monday 11 March, after making some "considered and intelligent decisions".

The States Assembly is due to vote on the motion at a sitting beginning on Tuesday 19 March.