The difficulties of a flexible maintenance grant were nothing compared to those involved in trying to introduce a fair and flexible graduate tax or repayment scheme. Taxing according to income is the most equitable way to support a student system. The EIS said the main issue was that students should have enough to live on. It was important to look at the whole picture of student support and not just fees. The EIS mentioned a fee waiver scheme to encourage low income students.
Further education wants to retain access to the grant at an institutional level.
It is time joined up government looked at bringing higher and further education closer together the two sectors should be regarded as an entity. There are many anomalies between the two sectors and these differences need to be addressed. The way forward, however, is not simply to rectify the anomalies. There is currently a culture of competition between higher and further education. Core courses should be deliverable by all, with some recognised as specialities beyond that generalised core.