It’s time for a better deal for post-graduates says Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesperson for Cambridge Daniel Zeichner, as the Higher Education Commission publishes a report recommending a postgraduate student loan scheme be introduced.

Following an eight month enquiry  the report will warn that the current patch-work system of support is inadequate and that with rising undergraduate fees, the strength of the UK’s future postgraduate sector is at risk.

Mr Zeichner says that with thousands of post-grads at the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University, the recommendations are important for Cambridge. He believes that postgraduate programmes should in future be governed by the Office of Fair Access, OFFA, and that fee caps should be introduced for postgraduate courses. He also wants all universities to report on the social background of students -; data is sparse at the moment, but  the Higher Education Commission warn that access to some professions is already being limited to a narrow elite because of limited access to postgraduate education.

“Today’s report is really important for Cambridge. Postgraduate education will be increasingly important as more students seek to differentiate themselves from others by going beyond a first degree. The costs are rising, and the current support is piecemeal -; the Higher Education Commission is right to recommend that a proper postgraduate loan scheme be developed.”