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Graduates now owe an average amount of £45,000, Student Loans Company figures have revealed
Outstanding student loans in England have surpassed £200bn for the first time – 20 years earlier than previous government forecasts, as the number of students at universities continues to outstrip expectations.
The Student Loans Company (SLC), which administers tuition and maintenance loans in England, said that the balance of government-backed loans reached £205bn in the current academic year, including £19bn worth of new loans to undergraduates. The figure has doubled in just six years. It reached more than £100bn in 2016-17 after the coalition government decided to increase undergraduate tuition fees from £3,600 a year to £9,000 in 2012.
Continue reading...Raising maintenance loans by only 2.8% means students will have to cut back on food and books, says report
The Department for Education has admitted students in England face a “negative impact” from its refusal to increase support in line with inflation, saying they will have to cut back on food and books as a result.
In an equality analysis of the government’s decision to raise maintenance loans by just 2.8% from autumn, the DfE said student support would have needed to go up by nearly 14% to keep up with the recent rises in the cost of living.
Continue reading...Labour says inflation may force more students to drop out, as those in England get just £200 more on average
Students from Wales will get £1,000 more to help with the cost of living crisis while those in England get just £200 on average, as Labour MPs said inflation may force more students to drop out of university.
The Welsh government said maintenance loans and grants for its students would rise by 9.4% from September, with support for full-time students increasing from £10,710 to £11,720 on average. Students in England will get a rise of just 2.8% in the next academic year after the Westminster government’s announcement last week, with the average maintenance loan increasing by about £200.
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