Scrapping EMA

[TrollinaTrollpants]

will poor people really miss it?

I think this is even worse than the fees increase

it's heartbreaking

there were no free dinners at ds's college, they did get a pass so that they only paid child bus fares though.
the idea that they can all just go out and get part time jobs is rubbish, where??????
ds tried and tried, zilch
there are going to be less jobs arround not more.
still hey ho, they can give up and go on the dole,

riven I didn't understand that, I saw it on the news, why are only English people suffering like this?
surely the other parts of UK have to make cuts too

rewind a few years ago to when this policy was introduced, and the reason was to get more people from low-income backgrounds to go to university - that objective has not been achieved. I feel this was just another of the 'throw money at it' policies of the previous government.

It is a failed policy.

certainly back in the nineties when i did A levels, people weren't leaving in order to earn money - some were leaving because they'd had enough of education. Some left to enrol in apprenticeships, or do vocational courses. those that wanted to stay on, stayed on, and many had part-time jobs too.

plenty dropped out anyway, but either becuase they couldn't cope with the step-up in difficulty, or they had chosen the wrong course. Not to earn money.

I totally understand there are kids who need it, but at the school I work at the majority live close enough to walk, and because we are a school and not college we provide all books, and I usually end up handing out paper and pens too!

They need to do something, but not sure what. Maybe scholarships- it does annoy me when you have very weak students staying on, and despite hours and hours of work from teachers they are never going to get decent grade.

No free dinners or bus passes here either!

DD sorry that made me laugh, perhaps cos ours were at the same place.

Not everyone lives within walking distance though and ema is payed for vocational courses not just A levels ..it encouraged many young people to go to college and learn a trade

I thought it was being cut as it will no longer be optional to leave school before 18. If there was a choice to leave at 16, and the money would help persuade you, I coud see the reason, but as they have to stay - why pay at 16?

I do think though that those on other benefits etc should get a free bus/train pass to college.

not read whole thread or seen news/links yet on this,but....didn't camerons lot say it was going to 'replace' ema with something else??

thin air by the sound of it

According to the info I was given today from the www.saveEMA.co.uk rep, in 2009/10 635,000 learners received EMA and around 80% of those got the full £30pw.

Research conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies revealed that EMA increased the proportion of males staying on in full time education by 7.4% and females by 5.9%

I work in a college in a fairly low income area and we have a really high proportion of our students who receive EMA so the cut will affect our intake in September and then that will of course filter down no doubt into another round of redundancies for the staff. We have heard that the college will receive a larger learner support fund allocation for '11/'12 but this won't be anywhere near the amount of funding that someone on the whole £30 a week can expect to receive in the future.

'the reason was to get more people from low-income backgrounds to go to university - that objective has not been achieved.'

...my understanding (anecdotal) was that it had worked

The writing's on the wall for Scotland. Our elections are next May and our budget from Westminster has been slashed.

Everytime I think it's bad, man, think of Ireland.

They are seeming some incredible cuts there.

is it true that if you're income is over £30k you get nothing?

the young mothers at my local college arrive by taxi, take their baby into the fully funded nursery place before heading to spend their EMA in the canteen.
It's a fcuking joke.

mamatomany You are a fucking joke

I was at sixth form when EMA was being piloted. My area wasn't in the pilot, my now DH's area did. We were both from low income families.

I worked every Tuesday after school and every Saturday and Sunday for £3.60 an hour. He got EMA.

I can't see that there was any benefit in him getting the EMA, except he had £30 unearned income a week while I had to work all Saturday for it.

Didn't make an impact on my grades and I feel my part time job gave me valuable experience that I still draw on to this day.

mamatomany

canteen??

surely they are spending their EMA on drugs and bingo??

Fags and booze more like

we don't get EMA but my daughter has a part time job. why can't others do the same. we are not exactly rolling in it.

Would you have applied for it if you were eligible alemci?

mamatomany - I was about to post practically same as you - know someone who works in library at FE College - loads of ppl marking time - not sure if EMA is really to blame - but there seem to be lots of people going to College without any great motivation to be there. But not clogging up the job less figures

where are all these jobs then alemci????

we are semi rural.....almost £5 return a day for dd to get to town,and last bus is just before 6.....