Nearly 2 million people now owe £50k or more in student loan debts amid fears 'the system doesn't work'
2 July 2024, 16:11 | Updated: 2 July 2024, 18:54
Nearly two million people in the UK are currently in at least £50,000 of student debt, new figures have revealed.
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More than 61,000 have balances of £100,000, and a further 50 owe upwards of £200,000, according to figures from the Student Loans Company.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that the highest amount of UK student debt was £252,000, compared to £231,000 only three months ago, an 8.9% increase.
As well as that, the new average balance for when debts begin to be repaid is £48,570, compared to less than £45,000 previously.
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Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said that this level of debt showed the student loan system was "not working" as "these people will not pay it all back".
The government currently has £236.2 billion on loan to those who are in or have completed university education, with 2.8 million people in the UK having made a student loan payment in the past financial year.
The Conservative Party have made no proposals on tuition fees in their manifesto, whereas Labour have said the system "does not work" and that they "will act to create a secure future for higher education".
The Liberal Democrats aim to review the system and reinstate maintenance grants for low income students, with the Green Party pledging to abolish fees and Reform UK wanting to remove interest on student loans, which is currently 7%.
Student loan interest rates need to be reassessed says caller
One Twitter user remarked: "We can blame @UKLabour for introducing the fee, @Conservatives for trebling student debts, @LibDems for lying (for power) and facilitating the trebling.... we are badly served".
Another said: "The whole student "loan" system is an expensive, vote-losing con".
Addressing the figures, which were first revealed by the BBC, the SLC said those with above average balances "may be in receipt of several student loan products", including further education, postgraduate, Master's and Doctoral courses.
It may also come from studying multiple or lengthy courses and having multiple loan plan types. Moreover, some students may receive additional funding due to "compelling personal reasons."
