EMA

EMA (Educational Maintenance Allowance) is a weekly grant of £10-£30 per week for 100% attendance to College or Sixth Form classes if you're aged 16-19 in the UK. Varies by income, but households that are on £30k+ a year are inelegible, which is a tad unfair, as people who earn £30+ are obviously taxpayers! Most of it isn't even kept for "educational maintenance", many kids blow it on drugs, alcohol, make-up, cinema tickets, cigerettes, videogames, night-outs, etc. Only a few kids actually spend it on school equipment or save it for university (the true 'working class' who actually want to better themselves). Really, it boils down to bribing chavs (who are NOT 'working class' by any means) to attend their Level 1/2 hair-dressing or mechanic courses at FE Colleges and not committing crimes on the streets. Personally, I believe that EMA should only be given to students (ALL students, not just low income ones) doing Level 3 and above courses at Sixth Form or College, such as A-levels, International Baccalaurette, certain BTEC's, good apprenticeships, etc. or those who have to resit their GCSE's. I personally believe the use of EMA should be moderated, and if it's found that students are wasting it on junk, then they should have the allowance taken off them, afterall it is TAXPAYERS money and not simply theirs to do what they like with it. If they want money to piss about with, they should get something called a JOB.