Former London mayor pledges to reinstate EMA “to help young Londoners with their education”
By Ellen Conlon
Ken Livingstone has pledged to reinstate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in London if he is elected as Mayor in May.
One of the coalition’s most unpopular cuts, EMA offered up to £30 a week to students in sixth forms or further education colleges if their household income was below £31,000 a year.
Around 85,000 students were receiving the allowance when it was cut and the decision helped to fuel large student protests.
Livingstone said, “I want to help young Londoners with their education by easing the squeeze the Tory-led government has imposed on them, and which the Tory mayor has totally ignored.
“I have been deeply struck by the plight of thousands of students I have met at colleges right across the capital, who have had the lifeline that EMA offered snatched away from them by the Conservative party, whilst the part-time Tory mayor stood by.”
London Higher, the umbrella group for London Universities, has agreed to support the plan. A spokesperson said, “We would be pleased to work with any initiatives that give support to students from poorer backgrounds to pursue their studies.”
Conservative candidate and current mayor Boris Johnson has acknowledged the potential damage inflicted by scrapping EMA. Appearing on the BBC’s Question Time last March, he said, “I am concerned it will have a significant impact on lots of young people in London.
“It is important that we keep young people in school, not just so they receive an education but so they don’t get sucked into crime.”
But a spokesperson for Johnson has criticized Livingstone’s pledge as being “un-costed” and “un-funded.”
The Association of Colleges (AoC), which represents further education and sixth form colleges has recorded that greater London has seen the steepest decline in the enrollment of 16 to 18-year-olds of any region.
“AoC is concerned about the evidence of the impact that the removal of the EMA has had on the ability of London’s 16-year-olds to access the right courses,” a spokesperson said.
The NUS has said that the announcement was a welcome recognition of the value of EMA for many young people.
Toni Pearce, Vice-President of the National Union of Students said, “Reintroducing EMA in London would be a huge step towards making sure that all young people in further education receive proper financial support to pay for the bare essentials associated with studying and would set a powerful example to all national policy makers.”
Instead of washing their hands of the Government’s decision to pull the plug on EMA or protesting their powerlessness, the other mayoral candidates should follow Ken’s lead and commit to reintroducing EMA.”