Overhaul of support scheme considered

Henry McLeish, Scotland's minister for enterprise and lifelong learning, is consulting on an overhaul of Scotland's unique postgraduate student allowances scheme to make funds available to more students.

The scheme annually supports about 2,500 students, mainly on short conversion or vocational courses. The Scottish Executive is asking whether students should have their tuition fees paid for them and whether it should operate like the new undergraduate package, with a mixture of loans and means-tested bursaries.