"But three weeks ago, when the journalist Oli Dugmore discussed this on the BBC's Question Time, it felt like a moment. It was less the size of the initial debt, he explained, than the way above-inflation interest rates meant the interest charged alone was now almost as much as the original sum. So was it mis-sold to me? he asked, rhetorically. Yes, I'd say so."
"Last month, the Labour MP Nadia Whittome set out that even with a salary in the top 5% of earnings, six years after she left university, her 49,600 had reduced by precisely 1,000."
"The Tory idea would be to reduce interest rates on plan 2 loans, those taken out from 2012 when annual tuition fees hit 9,000 to 2022. This would be paid for by cutting tens of thousands of university courses that do not provide what the party refers to as value for money for students, with suggestions made that this could include the creative arts."
English university graduates from the past 15 years increasingly view their student loans as debt traps due to above-inflation interest rates that cause accumulated interest to rival original loan amounts. Prominent examples include a journalist whose interest charges nearly equal his initial debt and an MP in the top 5% of earners who reduced her £49,600 loan by only £1,000 in six years. The government has acknowledged the problem requires action. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is working with the Treasury to develop a fairer system, with answers expected in coming weeks. The Conservative Party has proposed reducing interest rates on Plan 2 loans issued between 2012 and 2022, funded by cutting university courses deemed to lack value for students, potentially affecting creative arts programs.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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