UK Students Received £22m Less From Turing Scheme Than From EU’s Erasmus

For the 2022/23 academic year, students in the United Kingdom have been paid £22 million less by the Turing Scheme than by EU’s Erasmus program, according to local media reports.

The UK Government created the Turing Scheme to replace the EU’s Erasmus after the UK’s exit from the European Union. The scheme funds projects at UK educational institutions to offer their students and learners opportunities to study and work abroad, Erudera.com reports.

In the 2022/23 academic year, the scheme received 520 applications from all sectors compared to 412 applications submitted in the previous year. Of these, 316 applications were approved, for which a total of £106 million was allocated, £22 million less compared to the last grant of £128 million or €144 million that was given to the UK by the Erasmus program in 2020.

Overall, the budget for the Turing scheme increased by £7 million from the 2021/22 academic year when the program was launched, but higher education alone suffered a decrease of £5 million.

Some students told Open Democracy, a UK-based media, that unlike the Erasmus program that informs students in advance about grants, students who went to study abroad under the Turing scheme were informed about their funding status only after they had started their studies in another country, causing them financial difficulties.

“Every successful university had its grant funding confirmed in early July so they could give certainty to students travelling from September,” a spokesperson for Education Department told the platform.

A total of £62 million was provided to the higher education sector, £36 million to Further education (FE) and vocational education and training (VET), and nearly £8 million to schools. The total number of Turing participants was 38,374, with disadvantaged persons accounting for 52 percent of all students participating in the program.

To participate in higher education mobility under Turing Scheme, participants should be enrolled at a higher education provider in the UK or British Overseas Territories and pursue studies leading to a recognized degree or another recognized higher education qualification. Recent graduates who want to participate in a traineeship abroad within 12 months of graduation are also eligible for the program.

Different from the Erasmus+ program that decides a budget for a longer period - six or seven years, universities participating in the Turing Scheme apply for grants every year.

A couple of months ago, the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray, told The Herald that the Labour Party might take the UK and Scotland back to Erasmus+ program if it wins the election and assesses that rejoining the program contributes to the national interest.

>> UK’s Replacement of Erasmus+: What Should British Students Know About Turing Scheme?

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