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stay on, particularly among boys most likely to drop out. I remember when they piloted it – students rushed to make sure they got in on time. Attendance improved massively.”
Teachers’ views were backed up by a survey from the Association of Colleges and the University and Colleges Union. It found that 70 per cent of students would have dropped out if EMA was withdrawn and 38 per cent of those who got the grant would not have started their course without it.
December 2010 saw lunchtime protests across the country – students, parents and teachers united to condemn the plan to abolish the grant. Students lobbied MPs, took part in a ‘teach- in’ at Parliament, addressed council meetings, signed petitions, wrote letters and made media appearances.
Unprepared for this level of resistance, the Government seemed surprised at the political consciousness that quickly developed among young students. It countered that EMA was unaffordable and that too many who received it did not need it.
Research repeatedly demonstrated that the scheme kept students in college and improved achievement. And it not only paid for itself but also promoted economic growth. Leading economists published an open letter demanding the government retain EMA.
Succumbing to the pressure, Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that the EMA replacement, the ‘learner support fund’, would go up from £50m to £180m. Current AS students would continue to get a reduced EMA. Payments for those from the lowest income families would be enhanced.
The campaign also forced an education select committee inquiry into 16 to 19 participation. Over 700 students submitted evidence.
When the government began a consultation on the learner support fund, its own equality impact assessment warned that the new scheme could lead to discrimination claims. Heads and principals are concerned that it will be costly, bureaucratic and difficult to administer fairly.
Brook House Principal Ken Warman says: “The proposed fund is a serious cause for concern because there will be a radically reduced budget and because the distribution of such a fund is fraught with difficulties. It is clear there will be ‘guidelines’, not rules, there will be inconsistencies between colleges and a temptation to use the fund as a marketing and recruitment tool.”
Students have vowed to fight for full reinstatement of the EMA. Shabaz Khan, an A level student involved in the campaign, comments wryly: “Politicians are always going on about how they want us to get more involved in politics – it is a shame it took something so negative as cutting EMA to make us engage.”
http://saveema.co.uk
With nearly three quarters of its students getting the education maintenance allowance last year, Brook House has been at the heart of the campaign to save the EMA. Jamie Duff explains.
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