Is the Student Finance System Working?

The Briefing Room

This month exam results are published, and millions of young people will be hoping that they will do well enough to get into their chosen university. But students don't only need good grades to succeed - they also need money.

Ever since the expansion of higher education in the late 20th century, the way we pay for universities and their students has been through many changes. But now, the system is broken, critics say: tuition fees and student loans are too expensive, and the whole system is too opaque. This week, the head of one elite university group called for the return of maintenance grants. So what's wrong with student finance, and how can it be made to work better? David Aaronovitch and his guests discuss.