‘Study now, pay later’ isn’t such a bad idea
THERE is always plenty of talk about ‘ free education’ but what exactly is it?
A new proposal advocating the introduction of a centralised education loan system for third level students was made in recent days.
The idea behind it is to allow students to complete their higher education and pay back a loan over a period of time once they have graduated and are in employment.
This to me sounds like a feasible idea that if properly introduced would pay off in the long term.
As it stands, many of those students who receive a grant still struggle to live day to day and to actually feed themselves and pay rent while in college.
Students whose families are deemed ineligible for grant assistance must struggle every year to come up with the €3000 contribution/registration fees in order to be able to attend classes.
For a huge amount of students, it is their parents who foot the bill. They of course, want to support their children and want them to be educated and without parents, how many young people would have a hope of being able to afford third level fees?
The student loan system, similar to what has been on offer in the UK for decades would be a sensible and affordable solution to this. The idea of having young people leave college with a €20,000 debt on their backs is not so bad as it might seem.
Certainly it is no small figure but the repayments would be dependent on employment and salary and would be payable once the graduate can afford to do so.
Allowing students to complete their education without the worry of affording fees each term would be a massive weight off their minds and would enable them to focus on their studies rather than worrying about finances.
This system would also encourage graduates to focus on their careers post-education and would take pressure off parents, especially those who have more than once child in college at a time.
Having income-contingent repayments would also eliminate the worry about a looming lender on the horizon should graduates face any difficulty securing employment immediately after college.
It would ensure that every second level pupil in Ireland could progress to third level should they so desire, regardless of their financial circumstances.