http://bathknightblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/telegraph-logo.jpgBy Boarding School Beak. No wonder some would-be students are put off going to university when parents, like me, are struggling to meet the costs, says Boarding School Beak.
For anyone lucky enough to have enjoyed a free university education, it’s well-nigh impossible to grasp the fact that the state now contributes absolutely nothing towards the costs. This struck me forcefully, clearing out some old university notes. Tucked away in their midst, was a letter from the London Borough which kindly footed the bill for my maintenance grant, over thirty years ago. This letter apologised for a “shortfall” in funding and offered to make up the difference “as soon as possible”.
The reason? They hadn’t paid my rail fares, or “excess travel allowance” from home in London, to university. The sum they were sending me amounted to several hundred pounds, even then. More...