RETIREES DROP OFF UNIVERSITY STUDY

The number of older people enrolling on university courses has plummeted in the past decade. Tuition fee rises appear to be behind a reduction in the number of young people signing up for further study – but an even more marked decline has been observed in the numbers of older students. Figures obtained by Telegraph Money from the Higher Education Statistics Agency reveal there are half as many students aged 60 and over today as there were in 2007. There were 40,920 older students enrolled in all courses in 2007 – both undergraduate and postgraduate – but this fell to only 19,030 last year. The complex student loan system effectively enables many pensioners to get tuition fees paid “for free”. This is because they can borrow the money, like students of any age, but have less likelihood of repaying it, especially if their total income falls beneath the repayment threshold of £21,000 (rising to £25,000 from April). The fall in older student numbers is likely to reflect retirees’ lack of leisure time and other calls on their income, experts said.