Birkbeck research leads Times Higher Education

The current system of bursaries and scholarships in English universities does not necessarily help those students most in need. That’s according to research from Birkbeck’s Prof Claire Callender, published in the Times Higher Education today.

The research published today shows:

• A complex system exists with more than 300 separate schemes in operation at 117 higher education institutions in England
• A wide disparity in the size of bursaries offered to the poorest students, ranging from £300 to £3,500 a year depending on the university
• Forty percent of bursaries are not means-tested
• One quarter of bursaries are based exclusively on merit

The Times Higher suggests that Callender’s research "raises fundamental points about the bursary system, calling into question what bursaries are for."

Speaking to the Times Higher, Prof Callender said; "In some cases, bursaries and scholarships have perpetuated the inequities across HEIs that they were intended to alleviate; in some cases they may have actually exacerbated those inequities.

I do think careful consideration should be given to a national bursary scheme – but we need more information on how it would work in practice and what its consequences might be."

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