University students on courses supporting the industrial strategy will receive maintenance grants, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced. Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, she criticised the Conservative Party's approach to higher education.
The grants will support students studying "priority courses" at levels four to six. These include certificate of higher education and higher national diploma qualifications, as well as undergraduate degrees.
The maintenance grants will be funded by a new levy on international students. This levy will apply only to English higher education providers, with further details expected in this autumn's Budget.
Criticism of Conservative approach
Phillipson accused the Conservatives of treating universities "as a political battleground, not a public good". She told conference delegates that "Labour is putting them back in the service of working-class young people".
The Education Secretary argued that students' "time at college or university should be spent learning or training, not working every hour God sends". Her comments received applause from party activists in the conference hall.
Political and policy context
Phillipson is currently running in Labour's deputy leadership election, where she faces former Commons leader Lucy Powell. The announcement forms part of her pitch to party members.
During her broader conference speech, she highlighted other Labour achievements including free breakfast clubs, new school-based nurseries, Best Start family hubs, and the ending of private school tax breaks. She described the Labour Party as "the greatest vehicle for social justice this country has ever known".
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
