NUS responds to UUK’s proposals for healthcare students’ bailout
In response to Universities UK’s proposals for a bailout for healthcare students, NUS president Zamzam Ibrahim said that: ‘Of course, we welcome big organisations getting on board with the need for maintenance grant funding and we’re glad that UUK and Million Plus have supported this for all students since the general election.
‘We’ve long advocated that the NHS bursary is reintroduced for allied health students, along with a fee waiver. As we see healthcare students completing their courses early to work on the frontline of the NHS, the case for this is clearer than ever.
She noted that: ‘These proposals, however, do not go far enough. In the immediate term, students across the UK are in real financial danger as their wages and work dry up, and they are not able to access the other safety nets that society provides.
‘The students’ safety net that we need right now is access to immediate hardship funding for all students across the UK, a grant for those leaving education and the ability to redo, reimburse or write-off retake the year at no additional cost, or have fees reimbursed or written off.
Ibrahim concluded that: ‘The pandemic is affecting all students, and we need a solution that will support everyone.’
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