Students attending Forth Valley College are calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a better deal that will support learners to progress their studies and move into the world of work.
Representatives of Forth Valley Students Association met with Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley and set out the key concerns which have been raised with the Scottish Government as part of their campaign to raise awareness and build support for the action they are calling for. The Student Association argues that there is a need to increase support for bursaries for college students particularly from poorer backgrounds and want to see the threshold at which students start paying back loans increased as well as increased support for mental health support in colleges.
Mr Rowley has tabled a question in Parliament (full text of question below) asking for progress on the manifesto commitment from the Government to increase the rate at which students start to pay back the loan and has said:
“I very much support the campaign from local students and the call to increase the rate at which students start to pay back their loans. Elsewhere in the UK, students are set to start repaying students loans when they reach an income of £25,000 but in Scotland the rate is £17,775 so I do hope this can be addressed sooner rather than later.”
The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP also welcomed the work being done by the college and students association around mental health and said more must be done to recognise the issues and numbers of people who are seeking support with mental health issues. He said:
“The National Union of Students have highlighted mental health support as a key ask of government and I do believe that more must be done to address this issue and support people when they need that support. I also think it is regrettable that more and more young people say they struggle financially to be a student and get the skills they need to get the jobs that will support them throughout their lives. We must recognise that helping people to gain skills is good for them, for local communities and for the wider economy.
Addressing the issue of bursary support, Mr Rowley highlighted the high levels of families living on low incomes in the Forth Valley area and said:
“Bursary support must be seen as an investment and the fact is many of our young people will not be able to get financial support from their parents but this cannot be a barrier to them getting the chance to gain skills. We need to take serious the barrier of poverty and low income for many accessing further and higher education and I am committed to working with Forth Valley Students Association to make sure this issue is addressed”.
Photo shows Alex Rowley MSP with Forth Valley Student President Alan Buchan and Vice President Amy Scobbie
Question to Scottish Government:
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the commitment in its Programme for Scotland 2017-18 to (a) raise the Student Loan repayment threshold to £22,000 and (b) reduce the repayment period for Student Loans to 30 years.
