Labour leader claims he could not afford university now due to Tory policies and criticises government over increasing costs for students
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, has defended telling pupils last week that in 10 years’ time no one would be asking them about their A-level results.
Her comment was widely criticised because it appeared to downplay the significance of the results announced last week, and of the effort made by teenagers studing for their exams.
It is true and I will stand by the comments, because I was asked this actually after a business guy had said the same in an earlier interview, and I will stand by the comments.
As somebody who has worked for 30 years in business, that has employed hundreds if not thousands of people, I can honestly say I have never asked anybody for their A-level results or what grades they got.
Since 2010 you are now 86 per cent more likely to go to university if you are from a disadvantaged background.
We have these grants in place, they have gone up this year, we have also got a hardship fund which we have increased by £276 million this year.
So if somebody is struggling, if they come from a background where they are struggling to afford that, the universities have bursaries, they have funds, they have hardship funds, and we have increased that by £276 million this year because we know there is a lot of pressure.
