The Open Door to the Universities
The "new scheme of awards for university students" announced by the Ministry of Education on Monday. will be generally welcome. Henceforth winners of State scholarships, open scholarships and exhibitions, and even closed scholarships if the standard is high enough, will have the money made up by the Ministry to the amount needed for tuition and maintenance. The costs at universities vary. but a standard figure has been agreed with each. Parents' incomes will naturally be taken into account, and help on a graduated scale is to be arranged up to an Income-limit of £4500—and even above that assistance will be given if liabilities, such as the number of children in the family and their educational needs, justify it. This increase in aid to students Will have several results. First it will decrease the examination weariness (so often complained of by universities) among the less prosperous students who have previousl!. had to sit for one examination after another to build up their fund'. Second, more students will benefit, for instead of each student hold- ing several of the grants available, each will hold only one. Nor will there be need for local authorities to bestow major scholarships on those already holding awards, and local education grants can therefore be used for other students. Last, by graduation of grant according to income, a certain injustice is removed to fairly well-off families—families who in the pest have undergone financial strain to provide the full cost of university careers for their sons and daughters. The days of generous grants to the few and no grants to the many arc over. The realisation of the proper aim, that no students capable of profiting by a university education shall be de- barred from it for financial reasons, is brought sensibly nearer.
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