The Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl has spoken out about university debt in the UK after the charity’s ‘Degrees of Debt’ report found that university graduates in England face far higher debts on graduation than their peers in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Crippling
The Sutton Trust, which focuses on improving the UK’s social mobility through education, found that English university graduates in 2015 owed an average of £44,000.
“For some time, I’ve been worried about the levels of debt being amassed by British students. I backed the increases in tuition fees to £3,000 back in 2004 because I could see that it was necessary to fund universities. But then there was a fair trade-off: taxpayers and graduates shared the cost fairly. The coalition’s decision to treble maximum tuition fees for English undergraduates, whilst adding real interest of inflation plus up to 3%, has completely changed the ball game,” Sir Peter Lampl said.
“We looked at the systems in the four UK nations, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand and found that English students now face debts far higher than anyone else in the English-speaking world. But, that’s not whole story: many graduates won’t repay the debts in full, which reduces any gains the Exchequer might have hoped for,” Sir Peter added.
Differences
Degrees of Debt also focuses on the differing arrangements for each of the UK nations. For example, students in Scotland pay far less than in England, whilst grants in Wales enable Welsh students to take up places at English universities for less than £4,000 rather than £9,000.
Despite this, the government says England’s funding system is “fair and sustainable”.
A spokesman for the Business, Innovation and Skills committee defended the country’s university fees, telling the BBC:
“More people than ever before are now able to benefit from higher education, and the application rate for students from disadvantaged backgrounds is at a record level.
“As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has recognised, our student funding system is fair and sustainable.
“It removes financial barriers for anyone hoping to study, and is backed by the taxpayer, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years.
“Graduates only pay back on earnings above £21,000 and enjoy a considerable wage premium of £9,500 per year.”
Recommendations
The report recommends that:
- The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee report on higher education funding and provision each year, assessing the impact of changes on disadvantaged students, as well as mature and part-time students
- There is better co-ordination between higher education ministers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to rationalise student funding policies across the UK
You can read more recommendations from the Sutton Trust via the research piece: http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/degrees-of-debt/
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