University scholarship scheme is 'too complex and unlikely to encourage participation'

A £50 million government scheme intended to help the poorest and most disadvantaged young people go to university is too complicated and unlikely to be having the intended impact, a study has warned. 

It comes as one university vice-chancellor this week branded the current system for administering the scheme as "crazy".

The National Scholarship Programme (NSP) was introduced by the government following the move to triple tuition fees to up to £9,000 a year. The scheme, which replaces an old bursary system, is costing the government £50 million, equally matched by universities.

But the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the scheme was likely to be undermined by levels of “complexity and uncertainty” because universities were administering it in different ways and there was “substantial variation” in the type and amount of financial support on offer.