According to data from the Student Loans Company obtained by the BBC, the highest student debt has now surpassed £230,000.
Student Loan Debt in the UK Reaches New Heights
According to SLC, English university graduates typically graduate with debts totaling £44,940, while the largest repayment ever made by a degree-holder is £111,000. The numbers were described as "truly eye-watering" by one student organization, while the National Union of Students (NUS) said they brought out concerns about the way universities are funded.
An SLC spokesperson remarked: “These exceptional balances are a function of government policy that, in certain circumstances, exempts specific courses from repeat study restrictions, permits funding for additional years of study, and results in SLC awarding additional years of funding when an individual demonstrates compelling personal reasons.”
Based on House of Commons data, the common amount of debt incurred by a British student in the academic year 2003–04 was £3,190, with 81 percent of eligible students taking out loans.
In 2009/10, the average annual total of maintenance and tuition debt in England was £5,980. This has climbed by 143 percent over the last 14 years, reaching an average yearly debt level of £14,560 in 2022/23.
The amount of debt that students leave university with, as well as their repayment plan, are determined by when they started, their subject, and where they studied.
It is clear that the person with the most debt completed many courses, resulting in the £231,000 fee. The person who made the £111,000 payment had a six-year period of funding and paid off the debt in full.
Surging Student Loan Debt Presents Growing Financial Challenge for UK Students
For the first time, in June last year, total outstanding student loan debt exceeded £200 billion, having doubled in just six years. Official predictions indicated that it would take another twenty years to attain that figure.
The government anticipates just about 27% of undergraduates who study full-time starting in 2022–23 to reimburse their loans in full.
At the same time, higher interest rates are projected to boost the cost of the government's student loan scheme by £10 billion per year, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies data. Currently, debts are written off at the conclusion of the loan period, which is frequently approximately thirty years, regardless of the amount owed.
Changes were made in 2012, when the highest possible tuition fee was increased from £3,000 to £9,000 per year.
In the past academic year, more than 1.2 million British students took out student loans, up from 180,000 just thirty years earlier.
University students beginning their studies in August 2023 have Plan 5 debts. This means they will begin repaying their loan sooner and for a longer period of time than graduates with "Plan 2" loans who attended university before 2022–23.