MINISTERS face mounting pressure to drop plans to set minimum grade requirements for student loans after universities warned that the proposed new restriction could entrench the disadvantage suffered by poor students. 

The government is conducting a consultation on whether students without at least a GCSE pass in England and maths or two E-grade A-levels should be eligible for student loans to support them while studying at university. 

Universities UK (UUK), representing 140 institutions, has spoken out against the proposal. 

The umbrella body said that poorer students were more likely to receive lower GCSE and A-level results, but  those with the lowest A-level grades were more likely than the average to complete their courses. 

“This demonstrates that prior attainment data does not determine a student’s pathway in higher education,” UUK said.

It warned that a minimum entry requirement could “prevent some of the most disadvantaged students from achieving their potential and entrench their disadvantage.”

The consultation was launched in February in response to the long-awaited Augur review of post-18 education and funding. 

Other measures being considered include caps on student numbers and reducing the repayment thresholds for student loans and extending the repayment period from 30 to 40 years. 

Lecturers’ unions have also criticised the plans, with University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady describing them as an “attack” on poorer students. 

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We have not proposed to bar anyone from going to university. Rather, we are starting a conversation on minimum entry requirements and asking whether young people should be pushed straight into a full degree, without being prepared for that level of study.”