UK: Jo Johnson Urges Students to Live Frugally

Reports suggested that maintenance grants are likely to be brought back again for low-income students. A source from the senior Department for Education DfE said that "We don’t think it is right that the poorest students come out of university with most debt.”

Theresa May pledged to write off costs for low-earning graduates due to the pressure from Jeremy Corbyn, whose party vowed to scrap fees altogether. On the other hand, the Universities minister, Jo Johnson, stated that students should "live very modestly and have a frugal existence" in order not to run out of money. Johnson also added: “What is also so important to bear in mind is that students have many different choices about the kind of lifestyle they want at a university.

“Some students want to live very modestly and have a frugal existence, focusing on their studies. Other students may want a different lifestyle but there isn’t one cost of going to university – it’s a very specific choice that each individual will make.”

These comments made by Johnson are impacted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies IFS which stated that the Prime Minister's offer of freezing the threshold at £21,000 is a huge relief for graduates in England, and this would cost the government an extra £2bn a year. Johnson also claimed that the government has the versatile right to modify the system according to the current circumstances.