The cost of living crisis is placing nearly 300,000 UK students in financial peril, with a disproportionate number of older, working-class or Black students likely to drop out, according to analysis by a university group.
The MillionPlus group – an association of modern universities in England and Scotland educating more than a million students – said national governments and regulators including the Office for Students (OfS) and the Scottish Funding Council should take immediate action to alleviate the severe financial pressures facing students.
Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of MillionPlus, said: “We must challenge the narrative that all students are 18-year-olds and are able to rely on parental support – increasingly, with household budgets being squeezed, this is not a lived reality.
“For mature students, those who are from low participation areas, first-in-family or commuter students, the cost of living crisis seriously risks forcing them out of higher education and damaging their future prospects.”
