Part-time jobs shortage forces students to seek limited hardship funds

Despite working "increasingly hard" to find vacancies, the careers service at the University of Edinburgh has reported a 20 per cent drop in the number of jobs being advertised.

The news comes as figures released to The Journal from Edinburgh University’s Advice Place show a dramatic increase in the number of students enquiring about hardship funds.

In the academic year 2006/07, 1212 requests for hardship funding were made, compared with 2097 enquiries recorded by the Advice Place up to 17 March.

The unprecedented increase is being considered a direct result of the increasingly limited availability of part-time jobs and the unwillingness of banks to extend overdrafts and grant new loans to struggling students.

Edinburgh University Students' Association President Adam Ramsay has taken on the campaign to rasie awareness of the dire consequences the present financial situation poses for students, including publicising the issue within the pages of The Edinburgh Evening News.

Speaking to The Journal, Mr Ramsay said: "The government has depended on part-time jobs and bank loans to fund students through education. The prospect of bank loans being refused and part-time jobs drying up is terrifying.

“It will mean some students from poorer backgrounds can't afford to come to university at all. A society where people are priced out of a degree is one of the most regressive steps possible.”

Finding a term-time job has become increasingly important for students who have discovered that not even student loans, bursaries and interest-free overdrafts are sufficient for survival in a bleak economic landscape.

When contacted by The Journal, a spokesperson from the Scottish Government said it "recognised" the student support system was "inadequately funded" and that money for university hardship funds was being increased from £14.04 million to £16.1 million, an increase of eight per cent on 2007/08.

Mr Ramsay is calling for further state action, arguing that a guaranteed minimum income of £7000 per year is required to stem the predicted increase in university drop-outs as a result of the recession.

“We have been campaigning all year for an increase in the minimum income for students to £7,000. This is more crucial now than ever before," Mr Ramsay told The Journal.

"If the government doesn't increase levels of student support urgently, it will be allowing the credit crunch to crush social mobility for a generation."

Emma Lunec, a second-year student at the University of Edinburgh, agreed that students are being presented with stark decisions by the economic climate.

Speaking to The Journal, she argued that increased funding from the government may not solve the problem: "Dropping out because of money issues is possible, and it’s definitely something I worry about. I find that even with my loan, overdraft and help from my parents, it’s still not enough."

"If my loan increased then it would just mean I have to pay back more in the future. At the same time, if I was lucky enough to find a job I doubt I’d be able to keep up with university work."