Welsh students still await bursary forms

Welsh students working towards the social work diploma are still
having difficulties accessing bursaries despite assurances from the
Welsh health minister that they would be entitled to support.

Jane Hutt promised DipSW students last year that they would be able
to apply for bursaries of up to £2,500 a year, giving them
parity with English students studying for the diploma in Wales. But
a group of around 50 students at the University of Wales Institute
Cardiff (UWIC)have still not been able to obtain the necessary
forms.

A first year DipSW student told Community Care: “Our
tutors said we were supposed to get funding, but the university
said it does not have the forms. A lot of students like me are
heavily in debt and won’t be able to finish the course without a
bursary.”

UWIC was told last month by an administrator at the Care Council
for Wales that the scheme was being put together and the forms
should be ready “within a couple of weeks”.

But this week, a spokesperson at the Council said the forms were
still being produced and they could not give an exact date as to
when they would be ready.