The UK government is set to consider whether minimum requirements should be introduced in order to access student loans amid concerns that underqualified students are taking on large amounts of debt.
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the launch of a new consultation in the autumn which it said would “will look at options for a minimum English language requirement for prospective under-grads to access student finance, to ensure students taking on debt to earn a degree are equipped to succeed in their studies”.
Currently, only foreign students paying international fees are required to prove their language proficiency in order to enter university and specific language criteria is set by individual institutions.
There are no national minimum entry standards for domestic students, but ministers are considering changing this. The Guardian has previously reported the requirement will be for applicants to have at least a GCSE in English to qualify.
The announcement follows new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that found, while most graduates are financially better off as a result of attending university, the benefits vary depending on subjects studied and prior attainment levels.
