Many student protesters have been highlighting the axing of the EMA The abolition of the student support grant, the EMA, in England will affect some students’ ability to reach class, college principals say.
As travel fares rise and cuts bite, there are particular concerns for those in rural areas, some of whom travel up to 35 miles (56km) to get to college.
Principals fear poorer students may not be able to follow the preferred course, due to unaffordable transport costs.
The government has pledged more targeted support for poorer students
In the Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to axe the scheme, which was designed to keep students coming to class, saying it had very high “dead weight costs”.
The Department for Education has highlighted research that suggests many of the grants’ recipients would attend college or school whether they received the money or not.
But others say it is a critical factor in students’ decisions about staying in education.
The findings come from a survey of 160 Association of Colleges (AoC) members.
Some 94% said they thought the abolition of the grant, worth up to £30 a week for the poorest students, will affect students’ ability to travel.
The majority (78%) of colleges provide some form of financial assistance. The average spend is about £140,000 a year.
But figures are far higher for land-based colleges which specialise in agricultural and horticultural courses and tend to be in rural areas.
AoC President Chris Morecroft said: “There is a danger of students getting caught in a pincer movement between cash-strapped colleges and local authorities, which have also seen severe budget cuts.
“Our members are concerned that local authority subsidies may be at risk and even where subsidies remain, fares still may be out of reach for the poorest students.
“The abolition of the EMA (education maintenance allowance) will simply compound this, leaving the most disadvantaged students struggling to get to college to gain the qualifications they need to prepare themselves for a fulfilling and productive life.
“This may be an unintended consequence of the funding cuts faced by our colleges, local government and our students, but it flies in the face of the coalition government’s avowed desire to improve social mobility.”
The AoC is urging the government to reconsider its abolition of EMA funding.
A Department for Education spokesman said it was determined to make sure that no young person was put off staying in education because of transport problems.
“Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to enable 16 to 18 year olds to attend education and training by making sure that transport is not a barrier.
“And we are reviewing all home to school transport including looking at transport for pupils who live in rural areas.
“But let’s be clear, the deeply worrying state of the public finances has meant we’ve had to make some tough decisions. EMA was an expensive programme, costing over £560m a year with administration costs amounting to £36m, and only increased the participation in education of a minority of students.
“But we are not leaving pupils who genuinely face financial barriers on their own. We are significantly increasing the £26m learner support fund to help those most in need. We hope to at least triple this fund.”
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