Students could be required to pass GCSE English to access university loans

More than 30,000 domestic students each year enrol on full-time courses without formal qualifications such as GCSEs. Photograph: Martin Anderson/Alamy View image in fullscreen More than 30,000 domestic students each year enrol on full-time courses without formal qualifications such as GCSEs. Photograph: Martin Anderson/Alamy Students could be required to pass GCSE English to access university loans Exclusive: Ministers consider national threshold in England that could in effect bar thousands from studying University students would face minimum grade requirements to qualify for student loans in England under proposals that could in effect bar thousands of young people from higher education. Under one proposal being discussed by ministers, a pass in GCSE English would become the national threshold for students to access government-backed tuition and maintenance loans through the Student Loans Company. The change would affect more than 30,000 students each year who enrol on full-time first degree courses without formal qualifications such as GCSEs , as well as being a potential financial disaster for universities that teach large numbers of such students, often through franchise arrangements with external partners. UK universities warn of cuts for impoverished students if dire funding issues continue Read more Critics said the new regulation would mostly harm students from poorer backgrounds and non-traditional backgrounds, including those educated overseas or who struggled within the school system. Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus group representing modern universities, said: “Universities are autonomous institutions, and if a student can meet their requirements, is willing to take on that investment and is assessed to be capable, MillionPlus questions why the government thinks placing additional barriers in their way is the correct way forward. “Universities already have their own checks to ensure learners can meet English language requirements on their courses and will not take on students they are not confident can succeed. “Furthermore, this approach risks blocking access to mature students seeking to re-enter education later in life, who are precisely the group the government should want to see reskill and upskill.” The Department for Education (DfE) said it would not comment on speculation. But a spokesperson added: “We are restoring our world-class universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth. That is why we are cracking down on poor-quality courses so that students can be confident they’re getting value for money from university degrees.” Libby Hackett, the chief executive of the Russell Group of leading research universities, called for the government to work with the higher education sector over how minimum entry requirements could be applied, to avoid punishing groups such as mature students. Hackett said: “In principle, we support a national minimum entry standard to higher education. Typically, there a