From 2017-18, The University of Manchester are planning to cut bursaries for their poorest students by £500 pounds per year. This cut of 20% for the students most in need will bring down the yearly amount from £2500 to £2000; a significant amount which equates to nearly two months' rent.

Currently negotiating their next Access Agreement with OFFA (Office for Fair Access), the University are responding to increasing government cuts in Higher Education by reducing the amount of financial support that it offers to undergraduate students who come from a household with an income of £25,000 or under.

We recognise the strains that the government are placing on educational institutions, but the Students' Union vehemently opposes the University's plans.

We call on them to not just play lip service to a commitment to making Higher Education accessible to all, and reverse their plans to cut bursaries.

This decision unfairly punishes and burdens worse off students, and does nothing to ease the injustice of the attainment gap that currently afflicts students from poorer backgrounds.

This will plummet our students into further financial stress when coupled with cuts to Maintenance Grants; with those who cannot rely on financial support from home surely having to undertake more part-time work in order to make up for the University's cuts.

We will not stand by whilst our students' support is removed, especially in the context of rising living costs in Manchester. For a University that has 'Social Responsibility' as one of its three main goals, and with 23.9% of its students from Widening Participation backgrounds, we demand that you do not take a step back by making this decision.

Please add your thoughts to the comments section on why the University should reverse its plans to cut bursaries. We will include these in the Students' Union official response to the 2017-18 Access Agreement.

Please contact us to get involved in stopping the cuts.