The White Paper on Student Loans.

The article discusses the White Paper "Top-Up Loans for Students," which announced that the publicly-funded student maintenance grant would be partly replaced by a loan in Great Britain. It outlines the aims of higher education policy, since the White Paper should be judged by the extent to which it contributes to their achievement. It also discusses the British grants system, whereby students are maintained at taxpayer expense to an extent which is unusual by international standards. The article criticizes the weaknesses of the White Paper and shows how its proposals could beneficially be amended.