A survey published prior to the release of this year’s A-level results claims that on average students starting university this autumn will be more than twenty three thousand pounds in debt when they graduate. With high unemployment expected to continue for years to come and opportunities for full-time employment expected to be fewer and salaries little higher that they are today, those looking forward to starting years of further education could be forgiven for wondering whether it will all be worthwhile
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If you are sharing this concern, you should not be too worried. First of all look at the the figures. The projected sum of twenty three thousand pounds is just that: it’s a projection. The figure depends on a set of variable factors, including the rate of inflation, the level of fees and the availability of jobs. The figure does not, as some have implied, relate exclusively to top up fees, which students can repay by way of deferred loans.
The figure also takes into account anticipated credit card and other debts, which are within each student's control. One of the reasons why student debt has soared over the past year is the scarcity of part-time work, but this will not necessarily continue. If the UK economy picks up, and it must eventually, part time jobs may well be among the first to return.
The least avoidable student expenses are top-up fees, but these are soon to be reviewed by the Government. Student groups and others have been very hostile to top up fees and they will almost certainly cite the debt figures as a reason to scrap these fees and return to the drawing board on university funding.
However, the sharp rise in university applications this year provides strong evidence that this is not necessary. School-leavers appear to be deciding that, in a very difficult employment climate a degree is more necessary, not less necessary. They are treating a degree as a worthwhile investment for their future career.
There are of course genuine worries that need to be considered. The first concern is the fact that those entering higher education are likely to carry a debt burden with them into early middle age or even longer. This level of debt is something that concerns both students and their families.
But many fears can be allayed. Students enjoy a very low interest rate on their student loans and it will be in any government's interest for that to remain the case. In addition, no one has to commence repayments before their salary reaches a certain fifteen thousand pounds. Those, who either do not earn or earn less than fifteen thousand pounds, will not have to repay anything. For those who start repaying, the monthly sums could be thought of as an extra education tax rather than a loan repayment - something like the graduate tax that is often mooted as an alternative to the current fee structure.
Of course like anyone else, graduates will in time probably seek other forms of credit such as a mortgage. But student debt and loan repayments need not obstruct this. Even at an average of twenty three thousand pounds that debt will be modest compared with a mortgage. And mortgage lenders are already accustomed to factoring commitments to repay student loans into their credit calculations.
The second concern relates to those from low-income families seeking further education. Evidence shows that these people are more averse to debt than their more well off counterparts and that top up fees has significantly discouraged them. In fact many will qualify for grants that never have to be repaid. But both the Universities and the Government need to advertise the financial help that’s available much more extensively.
Universities should also establish more scholarships and foster more "blind needs” admissions on the American model. Top-up fees have rightly drummed home the truth that all higher education has a cost. To us this is a good thing, but no one should be prevented from taking up further education for lack of financial means.
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