Students say they continue to face rising costs Almost half of undergraduate students say they skipped college to get paid work.
BBC News spoke to two students who say the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on their studies.
“This year was my toughest year.”
Zineb Bouita, 21, is a second year journalism student at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
She says the rising cost of food and travel has hit her so hard that she’s trying to complete her studies outside of the city.
She says she receives around £7,000 per academic year from her alimony loan.
But with rent on £750 a month and food costs around £150 a month, paying her bills has become too stressful – especially since she was laid off from her job at a family business.
“University should be my future, but with money worries, I just can’t take care of it,” she said.
“Without a job, it’s just too much.
“I contacted my university and asked for a transfer back to my hometown of Manchester to complete my final year.
“It’s devastating. I made a life and friends here in Nottingham.”
In 2022, Zineb’s cost of living became so high that she felt she needed to prioritize paid work over her university studies.
Now she has to repeat the year.
“Mentally it’s so exhausting,” she said.
“You have to wake up, go to work, go to college, meet your assignment deadlines, figure out how to afford to pay your rent every month.
“I had this image that I would only be a student. Going to my lectures, going to social events – I didn’t get to experience that at all.”
Instead, she spends more time in bed to save on her heating bills and prefers an early night to dinner.
“The university isn’t even on my mind anymore; I’ll just get to it when I can,” she said.
“It’s just pushed aside. Money is always a stress for me.”
Liana Homjakova, 22, says she’s feeling the pinch too.
Originally from Latvia, she works as a chef in Nottingham while studying full time.
She fears that the extra shifts will affect her grades.
“I’m more worried about money than about my university work,” she said.
“I feel like these constant money worries have hampered my academic potential.
“It’s more important to focus on money because I just can’t survive without money.”
Liana, who is also a journalism major at NTU and is in her senior year, fears students have been forgotten during the cost-of-living crisis.
“It’s such a misunderstanding that we don’t fight,” she said.
“We just don’t get attention or we get negative attention that we just don’t complain about anything.”
NTU said it urged students struggling to contact their university for help and advice without fear of judgement.
Michael Lees, director of campus services at NTU, said: “We have already given 9,000 students a £100 living grant and we have the Hardship Fund there at around £1.5million so we are urging students , to come and take advantage of this when they are in such a position that they need it.
Save the Student, a money-saving website, is urging the government to reconsider increasing child support loans by 2.8% this autumn, claiming students could lose £1,500 if the increase is not challenged.
Save the Student’s Tom Allingham said he believes the cost of living crisis is one of the most challenging situations students have faced in the site’s 16 years of existence.
He said the students were considering dropping out of university or turning to other avenues to make money, such as sex work, to survive.
He urged the government to take action to help students.
A spokesman for the Department of Education (DfE) said: “We recognize that students continue to face financial challenges, which is why we are increasing loans and grants for living expenses and other expenses for another year.
“To help students who need further support we have made available an additional £15m and increased our student award funding to £276m this academic year.
“We urge students who are worried about their living conditions to speak to their university.”
Follow BBC East Midlands on FacebookAt Twitteror on Instagram. Submit your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.
Add Comment