£13bn debt to the Student Loans Company and counting
Students owe more than £13bn to the Student Loans Company, the universities minister has revealed.
In an answer in Parliament last night, Bill Rammell said that the total amount owed in 2003-4 was £13.36bn – seven times higher than in 1995-6. If that amount were laid out in pound coins the line would stretch round the earth seven and a half times.
The average individual debt to the SLC is £8,430 this year - £520 more than last year, and £4,900 more than in 1999-2000.
However, the true extent of student debt is harder to estimate as it includes bank loans, overdrafts and credit card bills, as well as money borrowed from family members. In 2002-3 the Student Income and Expenditure Survey, which only covered young, single, childless, full-time undergraduates in England and Wales, put the figure at £8,666 – almost £3,000 on top of the average student loan.
With the introduction of top-up fees next year students will be able to apply for even larger loans to cover the cost of their tuition, which they will not have to pay back until they are earning more than £15,000. However, Mr Rammell predicted that not all students would take up their full loans. "Those receiving the new maintenance grants and university bursaries can use them if they wish to reduce their overall debt," he said, adding that the repayment system was "fair and equitable".
Send this article to a friend