An urgent debate on the future of medical school fees is needed to stem the mounting debt crisis that threatens to bury the potential talent of thousands of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the BMA has warned.
The National Union of Students (NUS) recently published a new document, 'Funding Our Future: a blueprint for an alternative higher education funding system', which proposed a graduation contribution scheme to replace the current tuition fee system. The BMA has already called for an independent review of medical school funding and confirmed that it would be consulting its members on taking forward its work in this area.
Tom Foley, BMA Medical Student lead on student finance, said: "The BMA agrees with the NUS that the introduction of tuition fees has been a total disaster for students that will be exacerbated further if the government lifts the current fee cap in its anticipated review on fees and funding later this year.
“Tuition fees have done nothing to solve the chronic problem of higher education under funding and, worse still, they have saddled many medical students with a mountain of debt. We are rapidly reaching a situation where whole parts of our society will be excluded from the chance to become a doctor - a dreadful scenario for the NHS, which is now running the risk of missing out on talented individuals who should be out there caring for patients.
“The NUS report contains several interesting proposals for further debate, but there are a number of specific obstacles facing medical students, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, that need to be taken into account.
“Medical students – who pay the maximum annual tuition fee of £3,140 – face a tough financial road to qualification owing to an expensive five to six year course. This allows for fewer term breaks for part-time work than the standard three year undergraduate degree. Many students also face a substantial cut in support in their final year that leaves them struggling to meet basic accommodation and living costs.
“Graduation debt from a medical degree is expected to reach £36,000 in the coming years thanks to the impact of the current level of tuition fees. Applications from low income families are also at pathetically poor levels. Just 4% of clinical students come from the lowest two socio-economic groups and all students are now relying on £3,000 of yearly handouts from their parents – a terrible burden on working families at a time of recession4.
“We will be consulting our members on the way forward as it is important in these testing economic times that we have a serious debate about how we guarantee that our university system is based on the principles of fair access.”
