Diane Abbott joins BSix college students at debate over Education Maintenance Allowance

Students at BSix College on Kenworthy Road in Clapton have joined the conversation about how to bring the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) back to life.

As part of the launch of a campaign to reform the system of financial support for 16 and 17 year olds, a group of 50 students gathered with local councillors and Diane Abbott MP to debate how a reincarnation of student allowance should take shape.

Who should get it, how often, how to spend it, why it’s important and methods of payment were among the issues up for discussion.

The EMA was scrapped in England in 2010 under the coalition government and replaced by a £180 million Bursary Fund distributed by colleges rather than directly to the student. The funds are still available to students in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“It was a nasty move” says Diane Abbott MP, and a “cut to the budget of families struggling to support giving their children a college education.”

But the direct student allowance has been dubbed ‘beer money’ by some critics who were glad to see it go. Tory spokesman Chris Grayling has called the funds a ‘bribe’ for students to take courses they may never complete.

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has hinted that a form of EMA could be reintroduced under a Labour government.

By speaking with local students about their views and experiences of student allowance, the local Labour party hope to draw up a set of recommendations for its reinstatement and “land them on Tristram Hunt’s desk,” said Gilbert Smyth, a member of Cazenove Ward Labour Team who has been working with the students.

The new funds to be proposed by the campaigners, currently known as the Youth Education Allowance (YEA), will be aimed at increasing the financial support available to vulnerable 16 to 17-year-olds in the UK, and preventing them from joining the ranks of 70,000 NEETs in their age group (those not in education, employment or training).

“We want to see more young people have the opportunity to go to
college – not fewer,” said Smyth.

“Participation levels and interest in the subject was inspired and it’s obvious that such financial support is very important to them,” he said of the students.

But even among those campaigning for a new student allowance, there is considerable debate about the best way to reintroduce the funds. The students at BSix expressed a range of views on how the money should be spent.

The funds could come in the form of vouchers for travel or food in a student café or “healthier-option” establishments, for example. Or more controversially, cash.

Some students argued that social life would be a legitimate way to spend their allowance, contributing to an important part of student life. Others recounted relying on their EMA to pay family bills.

The group plans to reconvene next year to finish the discussion and to write their recommendations on the best way forward.