Mayor reinstates Education Maintenance Allowance grant and introduces a University Bursary

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Tower Hamlets Mayor just announced that his Cabinet has agreed to reinstate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) grant and introduce a University Bursary for our young people, making the borough the only one in England to offer it.

Mayor Rahman said “Education is something I’m passionate about, so when the government scrapped EMA in 2011, I immediately made it my priority to keep this vital payment going during my first term as Mayor.”

The Mayor explained that School and University allowed him to gain a law degree, and wanted the same opportunities for all young people.

“The I made it clear throughout my election campaign that bringing back EMA and University Bursaries, after the previous administration scrapped both to make ‘savings’, was among my biggest priorities” he said.

“EMA can make all the difference to a student, and help change the course of a young person’s life. It’s the ability to travel to college and gain qualifications, whether it be an apprenticeship or to get to university” he added.

Lutfur Rahman also said that the “extra boost of money to pay the rent and bills while studying at university can make a huge difference to grades by alleviating the financial strain so many students face.

“Wealth or class should never stand in the way of opportunity, which is why I am making this worthy investment in the young people of Tower Hamlets.”

The application for EMA and University Bursaries will open on November 1st 2022, and payments will be backdated to September. The Council will send more correspondence about the application when it goes live.