Axing of grants to postgrad students ‘a worry’

The withdrawal of grants for postgraduate studies poses a concerning risk for hard-up students’ chances to progress, says the head of the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Recent figures revealed the number of PhD students dropped by more than 10% in two years, falling to 7,898 in the 2013/14 college year, the first time in at least five years they were below 8,000.

In science, maths and computing, a 22.5% decrease was seen since 2010, while engineering and related doctoral candidates are down 11% to 1,036.