Cost "discourages HE participation"

Keywords Higher education, Costs, Part-time working

Some 64 per cent of Britons think that people are being discouraged from higher education because of its rising cost, and two-thirds of parents planning to send their children to university or college are concerned that they might not be able to do so. Many students are taking the increasing financial burden upon themselves. Some 25 per cent of students in employment are now working 40 hours or more a week to supplement their income, with a further 18 per cent working over 30 hours. In addition, 41 per cent of students working admit that this situation is harming their studies and overall grades.

Iain Aitken, managing director of freefund.com, which sponsored the survey,said: "Thousands of students are sacrificing grades to make ends meet financially. With student debt continuing to rise, things will only get worse. The average debt per student is £5,286, but with the introduction of tuition fees and rising living costs, this could soon top £12,000." As a response to the prospect of falling into heavy debt, 37 per cent of students said they would be forced to increase the number of hours they worked in paid employment while 31 per cent would turn to their parents for help. Between 1998 and 1999, parental funding increased by £82 million, to £522 million. A combination of these factors led 3 per cent of students to confess they would consider turning to crime to fund their studies.

Freefund.com is an Internet database of UK student scholarships and bursaries.