The Scottish Government has been accused of "short changing" students from poorer backgrounds after a bursary scheme was found not to have kept pace with inflation.
Scottish Labour said the maximum amount the least well-off students in higher education could claim from the Young Students’ Bursary had fallen by more than £1,000 in real terms under the SNP.
The Nationalists restored free higher education in 2008 after winning power at Holyrood for the first time in the previous year. The party scrapped a graduate endowment fee introduced by the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition.
But critics have argued that the no fee policy disproportionately benefits middle class students and has been maintained by cutting the funding for maintenance grants for poorer students.
In 2013/14, the student support system was changed by reducing the amount spent on grants and increasing the reliance on loans.
Students from households with low family incomes had been able to receive up to £2,640 through the bursary in 2012-13 – however this was cut by the SNP government in April 2013.
Labour has argued that had the SNP not cut the Young Students’ Bursary then the scheme would be worth a maximum of £3,157 per person in this financial year.
Despite this, the SNP’s cuts to the bursary mean that the maximum funds available to the poorest students today is just £2,000 - a cut of £1,157 in real terms.
Scottish Labour education spokesman Michael Marra said: “There can be no doubt that these deep cuts have left Scotland’s poorest students let down and short-changed.
“These cuts will have had a direct impact on the ability of students from the poorest backgrounds to commence or complete their studies.
“Time and time again, the SNP has failed to tackle the deep-seated inequality in our education system.
“Scottish Labour is committed to ending inequality in our higher education system through a minimum student income and action to put rent controls on student accommodation.
“We can’t have our poorest students short-changed and let down – the time for action has come.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Higher Education students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds can access a minimum income guarantee of £7,750 per year.
"Our policy on free tuition ensures that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students studying in Scotland do not incur additional debt of up to £27,000.
“We know that many students have faced additional financial pressure over the pandemic and have provided substantial support of over £96 million in hardship funding, digital access, mental health support and for student associations.
“We will also expand our total student support package to reach the equivalent of the living wage over the next three years.”
