Bring back grants (Student Loans Co.)

Member Name: Pearl Davison

Product:	Student Loans Co.
Date:	29/05/01 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They just about get you by

Disadvantages: Starting out in debt

So the government’s hatched another plan to keep the voter’s favour.

Tony Blair’s baby bonds may well help to maintain New Labour’s popularity in the polls today but what will they do for the young adults of tomorrow?

The government wants to give every newborn a nest egg of £250 that will grow to £3000 by the time they reach 18.

The theory is fine but in practice it could be just an empty political gesture.

Conditions must be attached to cashing-in these bonds so that the money can only be used for entrepreneurial or educational purposes and not to buy drink and designer labels.

Unless they are index-linked it’s unlikely these bonds will be worth very much when they mature - £3000 will barely pay for a first year at university today; it might just buy a textbook in 2019.

Surely the government can find better ways to give a flying start to young adult lives; like SCRAPPING STUDENT LOANS and university tuition fees and making realistic grants available to students.....after all education is a right not a priviledge.

A DEBT FREE start to adult life has to be preferable to a start with just a bit of loose change in a pocket.

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