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Universities could be offered cash incentives to take low-income
students.
Government sources say a figure of £1,000 per student is
being considered.
The Government wants half of all people under 30 to experience
to higher education by 2010.
The cash would be on top of existing grants available for widening
access and should encourage universities to recruit from schools
with little history of getting pupils into higher education.
Education Secretary Estelle Morris has said universities should
no longer be the "birthright" of the middle classes alone.
Sources said: "Widening participation means getting more people
from working class backgrounds into university. We are exploring
every way of doing that."
Yesterday, Ms Morris dismayed the National Union of Students when
she told MPs that any changes to student funding arrangements would
not be in place to benefit undergraduates starting courses this
autumn.
Last September, the Government announced a review of student loans
and fees after Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged they had been
a common complaint on the doorstep during the General Election campaign.
Ms Morris told the House of Commons: "We do not envisage any
significant changes in the method of student finance for entry in
this year, the start of the next academic year."
Posted 10th January 2002
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