MINISTERS are under pressure to find more money to support students from poorer backgrounds.

The Scottish Government has announced an extra £6 million for the higher education student support budget, bringing the total to £946m.

However, student body NUS Scotland wanted to see up to £120m in additional support.

The Scottish Government has also committed to increasing the graduate loan repayment threshold to £22,000 by the end of the current parliament and has maintained its policy of free tuition.

Luke Humberstone, president of NUS Scotland, said: “While we recognise the financial constraints the Scottish Government face, this is a missed opportunity to fix Scotland’s broken student support system.

“The investment ... is a positive start, but it is still a long way from the reform that students, particularly the poorest students, need.

“If we’re serious about widening access, we need to see serious new investment in financial support for students to access and succeed in education.”

Meanwhile, universities welcomed funding of £1.02 billion for 2018/19 - more than one per cent up on spending compared to the previous year.