STUDENT loans are on the way after senior Education members yesterday U-turned on their request for more money instead. Minister Martin Ozanne and his deputy, Wendy Morgan, changed their mind during the debate, with Dan Le Cheminant and Dave Grut the only members to support the proposal the board had taken to the House.
Deputy Hunter Adam abstained from voting on the motion, which would have been lost whichever way department members polled.
Loans will be set at £3,000 a year, repayable over 12 years after graduation.
Sparks failed to fly in the hotly anticipated debate until Deputy Morgan unexpectedly came out against her own department’s preferred proposal, to increase its budget.
‘I’ve still been agonising about where my greatest loyalty is meant to lie,’ said Deputy Morgan.
‘With this House and corporate governance, or Education. It’s the worst possible decision for me to make, but I have made it. I will vote for student loans, it would be dishonest for me to say we can run an education service without introducing them.’
Her speech was greeted with applause.
The move was followed by Deputy Ozanne as he closed debate.
‘If I can be assured that the next round of talks will provide more funding for the College of Further Education and higher education development, then I will say that I shall support the student loans scheme. I think that’s the only way. There are other areas in education that could be developed.’
This stance angered Deputy Sam Maindonald.
‘We have just heard the majority of members of Education saying they were not in favour of proposition one ‘to increase funding’. Why could they not have been honest with everyone prior to this debate?’ she said.
Deputy Ozanne replied: ‘We’ve never been determined at all costs option one should be followed.’
Education had proposed to have its budget increased by £2.5m. to cover a shortfall in higher-education funding from 2009.
But it also put a fallback position in its report of a student loans system.
Initially, Deputy Ozanne had rallied behind increasing the department’s higher-education grant.
He looked to take advantage of Treasury minister Lyndon Trott’s recent announcement that the black hole will be grey in 2009.
‘I would like to ask Deputy Trott, is there is the possibility the grey hole could become off-white by the time our first student is required to be paying off a loan? Is it premature to be undertaking a loan scheme?’
Deputy Trott said it would become off-white, but that was because of the measures the States was bringing in, including restraining spending.
‘I don’t want to introduce student loans, but there are quite obviously greater priorities in education and certainly in the public sector,’ added Deputy Trott.
The department will continue to spend £5.5m. on higher education.
Deputy Adam also spoke in favour of loans. ‘Long-term, it’s the most reasonable thing,’ he said.
The proposition to increase the grant was lost by 23 votes to 15.
Deputies threw out an amendment by Deputy David De Lisle for tax breaks for returning students if loans were brought in.
But members did agree to investigate making sure divorced or separated parents both contributed toward the cost of their children’s higher education.
Cherry Godfrey will administer the scheme after the States also rejected an amendment by Deputy Maindonald to see if it could be done in-house.
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