‘Student debt in Scotland now totals over
September 24, 2007 at 10:06 am
The majority of students at university worry about the debt which accompanies the ubiquitous student loan, with many students facing large debts when they finally graduate. A new report has shown that it is particularly students from Scotland who have been affected – indeed, shocking new figures state that more than £1.8bn is owed by students who studied at Scottish universities.
The loans which have been taken out from the Student Loans Company have cumulatively produced this huge debt amongst the 350,000 borrowers from Scotland and other EU countries; the report shows that each student from Scotland now has an average debt of £5,300 by the time they graduate.
Education secretary Fiona Hyslop believes the disturbing findings should force governments to consider moves to lower student debt. She says: “£1.8bn of state-sponsored debt is not good for the individuals concerned and not good from a public finance point of view.” Although the amount loaned to these students in the past year is £197.6m, only £51.5m of student loan payments were returned in the same year, which shows that student debt in Scotland is increasing heavily.
The reason for this is believed to be much to do with the Scottish graduate endowment fee of over £2000. This replaced upfront tuition fees for students in Scotland in 2000, and must be paid by most students when they graduate. All the money from the graduate endowment goes into a central pot from which the funds are used to fund the bursaries for poorer students.
Many believe that the endowment has been somewhat of a disaster as in the few years it has been in operation, two-thirds of students didn’t pay the fee directly but simply added it to their student loan. Not only is the endowment an extra burden constituting something akin to a “back-end” tuition fee, but it has not even been used for the students’ own learning.
Ms Hyslop has subsequently announced plans to abolish graduate endowment which is a heavy burden on graduate students. This should hopefully happen by April 2008, and it is believed that around 50,000 students will immediately start benefiting. This will help lower student debt across all of Scotland which has, as has been shown,become a serious issue.
My student debt has gone down considerably since I actually started working. I try not to take advantage of my parents and others and now I feel more like a real man because I pull my own weight. I would suggest this to any students.
I can reduce my student on the next term because I am earning extra money at a part time job as a waiter. I never thought it would be this good. I can now adjust my schedule according to my whims. Other students should do the same and I’m sure they won’t regret it.
I work hard and make my parents and grandparents proud.