EMA to close to new applicants

[Boothy]

EMA will close to new applicants from January 2011. Learner support funds will be available through schools, colleges and training providers to help students who most need it to continue in learning. If you currently get EMA you will continue to receive it for the rest of this academic year, but you will not receive it next academic year

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/EMA/index.htm

Hope they replace it with something though. I get EMA and haven't spent a penny of it this year, saving it all so I can do work experience in America once I'm at uni. I don't need it but I'm not gonna say no to free money.

Having said that, there are people who I know who genuinely do need it. Granted, not £30 a week, but I'm pretty sure they'd struggle getting to and from college, buying all their books and stationery without some financial help. Instead of giving students cash in their pocket, they should give them free bus/train passes and provide them with stationary and paper. Something like that.

[MTVN]

Most the people I know who get it dont spend it on what it's intended for or dont need as much as they get. Surely it's not that hard to find a once-a-week job or something that will give them the money they need.

And stationary doesnt cost £30, the only people who really need that much are those with high travel costs in which case they should give bus passes like you said.

[Callum]

So won't there be any EMA next year? :bawling:

[Benjamin]

EMA is ridiculous. If people can't afford to go to college/uni then don't go. I had to work 3 jobs to get me through College, and work 2 to get me through uni. It's called earning and paying for your future.

[Livia]

You're saving it to go to the USA? LOL... No wonder they're ending it.

[Scarlett.]

EMA is ridiculous. If people can't afford to go to college/uni then don't go. I had to work 3 jobs to get me through College, and work 2 to get me through uni. It's called earning and paying for your future.
A year ago I would have disagreed, now that I'm earning my own money, I agree

[Smithy]

I get EMA, I spend it so badly :laugh2:

[Jords]

EMA. :love:

[Ninastar]

I can not wait to tell my friends this. they all make fun of me cause they get ema and I dont! :'(

[Lewis.]

I work 20 hours a week anyway do it won't really effect me financially when I go to college next year, although I can see a lot of people not going to college if that's the case and just going straight onto work, especially with all of the hype that uni students cannot find jobs after they have graduated. Luckily my job isn't in school times and I'm already earning the amount to suit my needs and to pay for other things that I like, but might not essentially need. I might have a different view next year though when I've got to start paying for a car etc.

[Tom]

when I was at college it was peoples beer money for the weekend

GET A JOB IF YOU HAVE NO MONEY

[Shaun]

of course it's ending - going to college is becoming compulsory isn't it? there's no way the government could afford paying EVERY student £30 a week.

[Benjamin]

of course it's ending - going to college is becoming compulsory isn't it? there's no way the government could afford paying EVERY student £30 a week.

I don't see why the government pay people now to go to College. If they cannot afford it, either don't go, or get a job.

[Tom]

of course it's ending - going to college is becoming compulsory isn't it? there's no way the government could afford paying EVERY student £30 a week.

Almost everyone goes anyway, only skanks leave school at 16 and not bother with anything further

[Angus]

Nobody should be PAID to attend college, education is free to all to age 19 as it is, and should be valued for the privilege it is. Most students gettting EMA just consider it as pocket money, so why should the taxpayer fund it?

[Shaun]

I don't see why the government pay people now to go to College. If they cannot afford it, either don't go, or get a job.

It's supposed to be for 'travel expenses' and books :tongue:
I could really do with it actually. My bus pass is £14 a week, and I had to buy 4 textbooks at the start of the year at £20 each.

damn my oldness.

[Angus]

It's supposed to be for 'travel expenses' and books :tongue:
I could really do with it actually. My bus pass is £14 a week, and I had to buy 4 textbooks at the start of the year at £20 each.

damn my oldness.


No doubt every college will have its own "hardship fund" for those students who really are in dire financial straits, but the majority are not and really it is ridiculous to be giving teenagers £30 to spend on booze, cds or whatever simply for doing what they're supposed to do, i.e. turning up every day and studying.

[lily.]

Almost everyone goes anyway, only skanks leave school at 16 and not bother with anything further

I left school at 16.

I also used birth control when I didn't want to get pregnant.

Just saying.

[Shaun]

No doubt every college will have its own "hardship fund" for those students who really are in dire financial straits, but the majority are not and really it is ridiculous to be giving teenagers £30 to spend on booze, cds or whatever simply for doing what they're supposed to do, i.e. turning up every day and studying.

Yeah I have to agree - it is mostly misused.

[Novo]

I left school at 16.

I also used birth control when I didn't want to get pregnant.

Just saying.

Yes. Bang On Right.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CooefBreUwg/S6piUTD7guI/AAAAAAAAAMA/dQTS4yxmTaE/s1600/ginger+baby.jpg

Tom Jnr.

[Smithy]

No doubt every college will have its own "hardship fund" for those students who really are in dire financial straits, but the majority are not and really it is ridiculous to be giving teenagers £30 to spend on booze, cds or whatever simply for doing what they're supposed to do, i.e. turning up every day and studying.

Plus at the end of term and on your birthday you get a £100 bonus :D

[Z]

I didn't get paid anything for staying beyond compulsory education, find it a bit unfair that English kids do.

[Smithy]

I didn't get paid anything for staying beyond compulsory education, find it a bit unfair that English kids do.

Don't you get to go to uni for free?

[lily.]

The rules are different up here Greg.

[Z]

Don't you get to go to uni for free?

Tuition fees are paid for by the government, everything else I have to pay for.

[Smithy]

Tuition fees are paid for by the government, everything else I have to pay for.

Well that's a lot less than what we have to pay!

It balances out :p

[Z]

Well that's a lot less than what we have to pay!

It balances out :p

I'd say there's a dramatic difference between paying school children money for staying on and paying the tuition fees of University students :tongue:.

[_Seth]

going to college is becoming compulsory isn't it?

WHAT?! Hell no, where on earth did you hear that? :eek:

[BB_Eye]

I never got my EMA anyway, because my local authority were arseholes and refused funding to anybody who studied outside the council's boundaries.

They're not studying away from home and are still dependent on their parents/guardians so I don't see why they should need money. I think any full time mature students should be entitled to something though.

[Angus]

Plus at the end of term and on your birthday you get a £100 bonus :D


Yeah, another hairbrained scheme introduced by the profligate and incompetent Labour Party - as usual chucking money around that isn't theirs. No wonder this country is in such a mess.

[Shaun]

WHAT?! Hell no, where on earth did you hear that? :eek:

It was passed about 2 years ago - the leaving age for school is becoming 18 very soon. Might be next year.

[Tom]

I left school at 16.

I also used birth control when I didn't want to get pregnant.

Just saying.

Yes but this was probably in the 1960s :joker:

Birth control isn't 100% effective btw

[_Seth]

It was passed about 2 years ago - the leaving age for school is becoming 18 very soon. Might be next year.

I heard that too. But that's different to college becoming compulsory, I thought...

[Tom]

I heard that too. But that's different to college becoming compulsory, I thought...

It depends what you define as college. For most people its where you go after leaving school at 16, but some people call college Uni and go when you're 18+.

Not all schools have a 6th form so if it becomes compulsory then they need to go somewhere

[Barbie]

I got EMA when i was at college and i did spend it on its intended use, i paid for my train fare with it. everything else i used my job to pay for

[MTVN]

I got EMA when i was at college and i did spend it on its intended use, i paid for my train fare with it. everything else i used my job to pay for

If you got a train to school everyday then you're in very unusual circumstances. There are some people I know, they live easily within walking distance, the school provides all the equipment & textbooks etc. that they need and they're being paid £30 a week, it's ridiculous.

If you have legitimate need for money to pay for travel or something like that then they could ask those who are in need to apply for bus/train passes and give those to students instead. Not sure what the practicality and costs of doing that would be though.

[Judas]

I had EMA and I admit, I didn't use it for what it was meant to be for - there is no way I needed that much money to go to college. I had a job to pay for fun, and EMA paid for my driving lessons. I think the system is easily abused, although I still think some 'bonus' scheme on exam results could be used.

[\PJ/]

I am glad it's stopping it's not used correctly. The amount of times i have heard teenagers say they spend it on drink it's a joke im sick to death of the chav chavs riding each other and producing more chavs they are breading monsters.

[Beastie]

MOST people spend their EMA on other things. NOT stationary.. etc..

However in colleges there should be books in the library and free computers and paper to use. So you don't have to spend EMA on that.

Yes.. you should try and get a job when you are 16 part time if you are at college.

But hello.. it is hard to get a job!! However you have to keep trying!

Anyway back to EMA... You only get it if your mum and dad jointly earn less than 30 grand a year or something. You will then get a tenner, 20 quid or 30 quid a week depending on how much your parents earn.

MOST students will be able to live and travel without the EMA. However when they do scrap the EMA. I hope colleges make sure there are enough books, computers, paper and equipment for students to use during their studies!

However.. travelling.. if you are 16-18 you only have to pay 40p for the bus anyway! I am sure MOST people parent's give their kiddies a bit of money when they are 16-18 during their studies.

Also apparently if it is longer than 3 miles to get to college then you can receive a travel grant of 140 quid a year or something!

[Judas]

I am glad it's stopping it's not used correctly. The amount of times i have heard teenagers say they spend it on drink it's a joke im sick to death of the chav chavs riding each other and producing more chavs they are breading monsters.

LOL, I don't think EMA is quite to blame for the 'chav' culture you talk of...

[Beastie]

I got EMA when I was at college. However for me it didn't really make a difference whether I got it or not. I paid for 1 or 2 textbooks with it! Or just used the library books and the college's computer and paper! I also used the money if I went on college trips!!

[Angus]

I had EMA and I admit, I didn't use it for what it was meant to be for - there is no way I needed that much money to go to college. I had a job to pay for fun, and EMA paid for my driving lessons. I think the system is easily abused, although I still think some 'bonus' scheme on exam results could be used.

Why should you get a pat on the head for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, ie studying and passing your exams? Education is it's own reward, surely.

[lily.]

Yes but this was probably in the 1960s :joker:

Birth control isn't 100% effective btw

That's correct. It would be unfair of me to generalise by saying that everyone who gets pregnant by accident isn't smart enough to use birth control.

That would be like making a sweeping statement about 16 year old school leavers.

Oh wait.

[Tom]

That's correct. It would be unfair of me to generalise by saying that everyone who gets pregnant by accident isn't smart enough to use birth control.

That would be like making a sweeping statement about 16 year old school leavers.

Oh wait.

I thought it was a sly dig if anything.

But these days, in general, only tramps and no hopers leave at school and don't really go on to do much. it was probably different when you left because of less emphasis on A levels & uni

[Angus]

I thought it was a sly dig if anything.

But these days, in general, only tramps and no hopers leave at school and don't really go on to do much. it was probably different when you left because of less emphasis on A levels & uni

It is simply not true that you have to get A levels and degrees to succeed in life - I know plenty of over educated tramps and no hopers. Some of the most destructive and least contributing members of society have been privately educated and gone to top universities - look at Tony Blair as a prime example.

[Tom]

It is simply not true that you have to get A levels and degrees to succeed in life - I know plenty of over educated tramps and no hopers. Some of the most destructive and least contributing members of society have been privately educated and gone to top universities - look at Tony Blair as a prime example.

I know you don't need them to go far but I'm speaking purely in general terms. If you look at the ratio of career successes from school leavers and then from college leavers over a 5-10 year period I bet you'd see a big difference

These days even the people who don't want A Levels go on to do a vocational course in construction or hair and beauty or something like that.

Years ago it was a lot different, but these days some schools report figures of at least 90% going on to further education which in a year group of 200 people means that 180 leave education at that point.

A levels are also the qualifications that most employers look at.

[Angus]

I know you don't need them to go far but I'm speaking purely in general terms. If you look at the ratio of career successes from school leavers and then from college leavers over a 5-10 year period I bet you'd see a big difference

These days even the people who don't want A Levels go on to do a vocational course in construction or hair and beauty or something like that.

Years ago it was a lot different, but these days some schools report figures of at least 90% going on to further education which in a year group of 200 people means that 180 leave education at that point.

A levels are also the qualifications that most employers look at.

There are plenty of careers that offer on the job training and education - and this obsession with sending kids into further education to the extent they are in no gainful employment until they are in their early 20s is, quite frankly, ludicrous. It gives kids a false and unrealistic sense of entitlement to a job in a world where it's dog eat dog and the early bird catches the worm.

Vocational courses are the way to go, earn while you learn and end up with a useful skill that will enable you to earn a living. It is even more imperative that student fees are raised and not funded by the taxpayer if such high percentages are opting to stay in education for a further 3 years.

I have two sons who both spurned uni and they're the ones laughing now, as they are in secure, full time employment, whilst many of their contemporaries who opted for a degree are unemployed. Because so many people are getting degrees, it has devalued the qualification to the extent that you literally have to have one to work behind the counter at KFC or McDonalds.

[Tom]

There are plenty of careers that offer on the job training and education - and this obsession with sending kids into further education to the extent they are in no gainful employment until they are in their early 20s is, quite frankly, ludicrous. It gives kids a false and unrealistic sense of entitlement to a job in a world where it's dog eat dog and the early bird catches the worm.

Vocational courses are the way to go, earn while you learn and end up with a useful skill that will enable you to earn a living. It is even more imperative that student fees are raised and not funded by the taxpayer if such high percentages are opting to stay in education for a further 3 years.

I have two sons who both spurned uni and they're the ones laughing now, as they are in secure, full time employment, whilst many of their contemporaries who opted for a degree are unemployed. Because so many people are getting degrees, it has devalued the qualification to the extent that you literally have to have one to work behind the counter at KFC or McDonalds.

I think the problem lies in the over exaggeration of the economy and "lack of jobs". That gets people into the mentality of not being bothered to get a job because they don't think they'll find one and instead opt for gaining a pointless degree.

And if worst comes to worst when you're struggling for a job, if you can't get a christmas temp job in retail then the problem lies with you, not the economy.

I don't necessarily think vocational courses are the way to go, but I do think if something practical isn't for you then you can't go wrong with getting some A Levels. I just think too many people go to Uni when they don't need to and gain pointless degrees, a load of debt and a huge lack of experience. I'm doing a degree myself but through open uni whilst I'm working full time but hoping that leads to something else (Sports Rehabilitation), but I'm talking about people who just go and do Media or Sociology because they cba getting a job

[lily.]

I gained more useful qualifications after I left school. My employer sent a select group of us to college on day-release to get our HND in Business. So I was working 4 days, at college for one, and getting my wages at the end of the month. The employer paid for our tuition, and we had no need to claim anything from the government.

My post about birth-control wasn't a 'sly dig'. It was merely to point out how you can't generalise as everyone's situation is different. It's insulting to those of us who have gained further qualifications without being full-time students.

[Tom]

I gained more useful qualifications after I left school. My employer sent a select group of us to college on day-release to get our HND in Business. So I was working 4 days, at college for one, and getting my wages at the end of the month. The employer paid for our tuition, and we had no need to claim anything from the government.

My post about birth-control wasn't a 'sly dig'. It was merely to point out how you can't generalise as everyone's situation is different. It's insulting to those of us who have gained further qualifications without being full-time students.

That kind of thing counts as further education now.

[Mr XcX]

EMA Is a joke.

Hundreds scaming the system. Scrap it David please.

[bettiepage]

I only ever got paid EMA on holidays :L

[lily.]

Tom, it's not subsidised though. And, I worked throughout.