WALES: Student grant shake-up plan unveiled

The Welsh Education Minister has unveiled proposals to scrap the £1,890-a-year (US$2,927) grant every Welsh student in Wales receives towards tuition fees, reports the BBC. Jane Hutt wants a "significant proportion" of funding, currently £61 million, to be redirected to helping students from lower income families from 2010.

She said the grants would still be available on a means-tested basis for those from middle income households. An independent review fears the existing system causes "disparity". Welsh students studying in Wales pay £1,200 in fees - rather than £3,000 for students from other parts of the UK.

Under the proposals outlined to assembly members by Hutt, this system would be overhauled to enhance the use of more assembly learning grants, which are available to all students who normally live in Wales. She also wanted measures to provide debt relief to graduates and said she was pressing the UK government to index link the subsidised loan repayment threshold.
Full report on the BBC site