The public strongly supports providing more financial?help to students?training to become NHS workers or teachers, according to new polling.

As England grapples with a steep decline in applications to study nursing and primary school teaching, a YouGov survey?commissioned by University Alliance shows that 85 per cent of?voters support government-funded loan forgiveness, grants or bursaries for students training to work in the NHS.

Approval?for this policy spans the political spectrum, with 80 per cent of Reform UK voters in favour of it.

¡°I¡¯m pleased to see such significant public support for financial incentives for students studying to work in our public sector services like social services and the NHS,¡± said Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance.

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It comes in the context of a , raising fears of?worsening staff shortages ¨C something the Royal College of Nursing has described as a ¡°hammer blow for NHS reforms¡±.

Admissions service Ucas has reported an all-time low in applications for nursing courses this year ¨C a 30 per cent drop compared with record high numbers seen during the pandemic.

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While not yet as drastic, similar declines have been reported in the teaching sector. There has been a in applications to study primary school teaching?¨C the second lowest in the past?decade?since 2023-2024. The number of applicants accepted has also declined 5 per cent.

These trends were?particularly pronounced?among mature students, who made??applications for nursing and teaching courses in 2024.

Support?for government-backed financial?help was not limited to the training of NHS workers.?Seventy-five?per cent of respondents endorse?the same financial support for students training to be teachers, 68 per cent for social workers and 65 per cent for those training in policing roles, with Labour voters being the?biggest?proponents of financial reform in all three sectors.

Of a list of possible changes that could be made to the UK higher education system, the public backed increasing the financial?help available to students most strongly, with 46 per cent placing this in their top three priorities.

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Nearly half of those polled agreed that the closure of a local university in their area would have big impact on their local economy.

But there was also strong support for changing the university system, with 57 per cent of people thinking undergraduate courses place too much emphasis on academic learning and not enough on work-based skills and experience.