The Welsh Government has announced that it will increase the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for eligible further education students in sixth form or college

from £30 to £40 per week. This grant is intended to support 16 to 18-year-old students from low income households with expenses such as transport or meals. This increase in the EMA is set to make Wales the first UK nation to offer such a high weekly grant.

To be eligible for EMA, further education students must have a household income of £20,817 or less if they are the only young person in the household, or £23,077 if there is more than one young person in the household. The increase will be in place for the next two academic years while an extensive review of EMA is conducted.

Approximately 16,000 further education students in Wales currently receive this payment, which is paid every two weeks. This announcement was made by Jeremy Miles, the minister for education and Welsh language, at Gower College in Swansea. In addition to the increase in EMA, Mr Miles also announced funding to allow economically disadvantaged learners taking general and vocational qualifications to appeal for free in summer 2023.

Mr Miles expressed that this increase will help with the reality of the cost of learning for students and that EMA and the free appeals system for exams are part of a support package that the Welsh government provides to eligible students. While the independent review of EMA is underway, this increase will help remove barriers to learning and provide additional assistance to young people who are experiencing financial strain. Mr Miles encourages young people to check if they qualify for these grants. Photo by Jonathan Wilkins, Wikimedia commons.