Scrap bursary for medical students in England, says Institute for Fiscal Studies

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has called for the NHS bursary in England to be scrapped.

The bursary is a grant of between £10 000 to £14 000 awarded to undergraduate medical and dentistry students in the later stages of their course to cover tuition fees and maintenance costs.1 It replaces government student loans. For postgraduate medical and dental students, tuition fees are only partially covered.

In a comment article, IFS senior research economist Ben Waltmann argued that the bursary does not provide value for money.2

With government plans to double the number of medical school places by 2031,3 Waltmann said the cost of the NHS bursary was expected to increase proportionally. He questioned …