Postgrad education ‘now like exclusive golf club’

The study warns that studying for a qualification beyond a degree is now out of reach of most people, and raises concerns about the current funding system for those who want to continue their education.

It condemns the Government’s loans scheme for postgraduates as “breathtakingly inadequate” and calls for the system to be overhauled. The report, by the CentreForum think tank says a lack of funding for UK postgraduate students has reached a crisis point.

“Postgraduate education in Britain is like an exclusive golf club,” it argues. “Home graduates who lack the means to pay course fees upfront need not apply. There is no undergraduate style loans system to ensure fair access, and only very limited funding available from universities, government bodies, employers and commercial lenders.”

The study suggests fewer UK students are choosing to study for a postgraduate qualification because of higher fees and cuts to research and funding support.

It also attacks the government’s Professional and Career Development Loan initiative which allow students to borrow up to £10,000 to pay for courses and training that will help with their career or getting a job.

The loans are normally offered at a reduced interest rate, with the government paying the interest while the student is at university. In 2010, only 5,700 students secured one of the loans, which is less than one-in-three of the home students who started a postgraduate course that years. It calls for ministers to replace with a new system similar to the undergraduate loans scheme.