Poor Scottish students are the poorest in UK, bank study reveals

Published on Wednesday 17 August 2011 14:46

Students in Scotland survive on less income than any others in the rest of the UK - and are more likely to have to take paid work alongside their studies to make ends meet.

On average, Scottish students survive on 6 per cent less money than other UK students - living off just 5,640 a year - according to the latest Lloyds TSB Student Finance Report.

UK-wide, more than half of all students say they are struggling to get by - while almost one in five say they do not have enough to get them through each month.

Three fifths of Scottish students - compared to just over half UK-wide - took on paid work on top of their degree coursework. Only students in the North East of England were more likely to have to work to fund their university education.

It is thought that a higher proportion of students are choosing to live at home during term time to cut their living costs, as pressures on finances increase.

A separate study carried out by the bank shows that the majority of students claim they sacrificed going out or spending on non-essential items to help make ends meet last year.

Just over a third say that they have had to raid their savings to get by, while 32 per cent admitted they had been forced to approach friends or family for financial help to manage through the month.

Jatin Patel, director of personal current accounts at Lloyds TSB, said: "Going to university is meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but students today not only have the worry of taking on a large debt burden, but the rising cost of living means many are also struggling to make ends meet while they are still studying.

"Paid work can be a huge benefit to students as it can give them valuable experience for later on in life; however, it should not be impacting their studies. With finances so tight, students need to ensure they are making use of all the discounts and money management tools available to them to help them."

However, almost a quarter said their paid work interfered with their studies. The average student wage came in at 7.89 an hour - above the UK minimum wage level of 6.08.

Experts said Scottish students received lower grants and loans than students elsewhere in the UK - leaving them in tight financial circumstances.

"Even the poorest Scottish student receives around 1,000 less than someone on benefits looking for a job, and far below the poverty line." said Graeme Kirkpatrick, depute president of NUS Scotland. He said the research confirmed National Union of Students' surveys that suggested having to work "damaging amounts of paid hours alongside their courses" was limiting students' academic attainments.

He said: "Equally, we know around half of Scottish students are forced to take on commercial debt just to get by.

"It's no surprise then that Scotland has some of the highest rates of drop out in the UK."He added: "Education should be based on ability not your ability to pay. This is as much about help with living costs as it is about ruling out tuition fees.

"The Scottish Government must invest to improve the financial help available to the poorest students, to improve fairness in Scotland and to improve our economy too."

'It's hard to make ends meet'

Third-year student nurse Graeme Middleton works 18 hours a week in a contact centre at British Gas, on top of his full-time course at Napier University.

He said: "I've been working part-time while I've been studying for the past three years. I work evening shifts and also a Sunday morning so I can fit it in around my university work.

"I get a bursary from the university, but I have to work to supplement my income – a lot of things seem to be increasing in price and it has been hard to make ends meet. Being a student, obviously you want to go out occasionally, but that can sometimes be fairly difficult."

Mr Middleton, from Edinburgh, added: "I think a lot of students manage quite well in the first couple of years. You get used to having to budget – but by the third year, most people are just wanting to get out and work because it is so tough.

"I wanted to get a job not only to supplement my income while I'm studying, but to have something to fall back on if I can't get a job after I graduate. I may end up keeping my job at British Gas if I can only get part-time work as a nurse."