GIVE STUDENTS AN INCOME OF £8100 A YEAR
Move could leave more youngsters in debt
MORE young people could be saddled with debt under proposals to expand student loans a decade after the SNP promised to wipe it out.
An independent review of funding yesterday recommended extending loans to students in further education as well as university.
The proposal, one of three sent to the Scottish Government, aims to give students an £8100 minimum income.
Funds would be split between loans and grants, at a cost of £16million to £123million more a year depending on the balance between the two.
Banking chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia, who led the review, defended the proposal as the “best deal” for students.
Gadhia said: “Realistically, within the current funding options available, I believe this will require the introduction of student loans to further education students to top up existing levels of bursary.”
Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money, announced the proposals at Heriot-Watt University – the site of a controversial monument to Alex Salmond’s free tuition policy.
Salmond entered government in 2007 after promising to “dump the debt”. Average student debt has since doubled to nearly £12,000.
The review group were not able to factor tuition fees into their proposals, which resulted in three options for the Government.
Option one was to meet the £8100 target through higher loans but it was immediately disregarded. Instead, they suggested two other options with varying degrees of bursary support, including a 50-50 split with loans for those on the lowest incomes.
The even split, backed by most, would cost an extra £123million a year in bursaries and the notional cost of £153million for loans.
SNP Higher and Further Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The report sets out a number of recommendations that would fundamentally change the way students in Scotland are supported financially.”
Scottish Lib Dem education spokesman Tavish Scott said: “The SNP slyly slashed bursaries for those needing help the most.
“They promised to end all student debt but have instead overseen its ballooning.”
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The SNP should start to fix what they have got wrong by delivering bursaries for those who need them the most, in both further and higher education.”