Loan News NUS Government Recognising Student Debt Problem

Written by Editorial Team

21 September 2007

The government is not taking enough action to tackle the problems experienced by graduates who are increasingly struggling with debt, according to the national Union of Students (NUS).

A spokesperson for the union said that the government realised that there was a problem, but it was being slow on the uptake.

Figures published by thisismoney.co.uk revealed that students graduated with £3.2 billion of debt, which over ten years is an increase of 167 per cent.

Moreover, in excess of 4,000 borrowers from the Student Loans Company have declared themselves bankrupt and interest on student loans stands at 4.8 per cent, its highest rate since 1991.

The NUS spokesperson said: “We’re very pleased the government has now started to realise the perilous situation graduates find themselves … but we don’t necessarily think that they’re so concerned that they’re doing particularly massive things about it.”

Maintenance loans should be increased so that students were able to live off them, she added.

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