Scots education 'crisis' as student debt soars to record £7.6bn

According to figures from the Student Loans Company (SLC), which administers tuition and maintenance loans across the UK, the loan balance has more than doubled since 2013/14 when it was £3.1m. The loan debt has risen by £600m in just one year.

The analysis which covers Scottish students who are studying or have studied in higher education (HE) and further education (FE) in the whole of the UK including Scotland found that in 2022-23 alone, they took out loans worth over £590m.

And the interest on the loans is also skyrocketing.

It was at £40.1m in 2013/14 but has risen to a record £189.2m in 2022/23. In just one year interest levels have soared by over two-and-a-half times from £74.8m in 2021/22, with the rise in inflation being blamed meaning maximum interest rates rose from 1.5% to 5%.

It comes as the National Union of Students Scotland has warned ministers that the cost of living crisis is "devastating" students and staff across the higher and further education sector.

Its latest Cost of Survival survey of over 5,300 college and university students and apprentices found 52% of students had skipped meals, 45% had gone without heating and 37% had considered leaving their courses due to lack of financial support.

The most common reason for considering dropping out was not having enough money in their loan or bursary (34%) but the cost-of-living was cited by 1 in 5 (19%).

The study carried out in November found that one in 10 said they had previously experienced homelessness while one in 50 were currently experiencing homelessness.

Just over one in three were unable to pay their rent in full and 13% of all students have either been unable to find somewhere to live by the time their classes began (11%) or still hadn’t found somewhere (2%). And two thirds of students say that since the start of their studies, their mental health has been impacted by their money worries, with almost one in five indicating it has been impacted a great deal.

Ellie Gomersall, president of NUS Scotland said: “The fact that student debt in Scotland has doubled since 2013/14 is a clear sign that the Scottish education system is in crisis.

“The £7.6 billion of student debt in Scotland is proof that it's not enough to just offer free tuition for undergraduate home students. The Scottish Government must ensure that students from all backgrounds studying at all levels can access education without facing significant poverty and debt."

Some £538.3m has been given out in maintenance loans to help students towards living costs such as rent and food, a rise of 31% over the ten years since 2013/14.

And loans for tuition fees, required for students studying outside of Scotland, has more than doubled over the decade from £27m to £52.9m.

The students union raised concerns that the Government would no longer be honouring a promise of a £26m revenue funding uplift to colleges, and £20m for universities.

A total of £46m was due to be spent on the Scottish college and university sector however was identified as an "essential saving".

The money was pledged by former finance minister John Swinney in the budget last December.

They were told in May the reversal was "to meet other [Scottish government] priorities".

NUS Scotland launched a campaign to tell ministers that the £46m itself was not enough to "keep our education system afloat in the cost-of-living crisis" while raising concerns about their survey results.

They said to withdraw the funding altogether, which would have covered invaluable teaching, support services and staffing was "unjustifiable".

They were concerned that in the midst of what they called a "student mental health crisis" with a Thriving Learners survey finding that more than two thirds of students have reported low well-being, student support services had been "continuously cut with no long-term confirmed funding for mental health counsellors in colleges or universities for the coming academic year".

NUS Scotland said that while inflation has been running at over 10%, undergraduate student support was increased by just 4.5% for the poorest students and Further Education student bursaries rose by just 4.1%.

But it welcomed an indication from ministers that they would investigate a new funding model for further and higher education in Scotland.

Ms Gomersall said students should be at the heart of designing the funding model for education saying the previous plan left students vulnerable to poverty and without support from the colleges and universities.

She said: “The Scottish Government’s recently announced exploration of a new funding system for further and higher education as well as their ongoing commitment to raising student support in line with the Real Living Wage present exciting opportunities for us to imagine and build an education system that is truly accessible to all."

NUS Scotland says the current model relies on international students paying "extortionate" tuition fees to cover the gaps left by "insufficient government funding" for Scottish students. Despite this, the union says that international students are almost twice as likely as home students to experience homelessness during their studies.

Scottish students who study at a Scottish university get their tuition fees paid in full through Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

The standard annual fee for a degree as of 2022, was £1,820, and it did not have to be paid back, unlike students elsewhere in the UK who have to take out a tuition-fee loan.

But degree courses last four years in Scotland, rather than the standard three years elsewhere in the UK - which means many students have to think about covering an extra year of living costs.

Those Scots who decide to study further afield in England, Northern Ireland or Wales means they are looking at up to £9,250 a year in tuition fees as at 2022.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:  "Scotland has the lowest student debt levels in the UK by some margin as a result of our policy of free tuition for Scottish domiciled students studying at university here. This ensures that access to university is based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, and that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students do not incur additional debt of up to £27,750.

“The average debt for students in England is now £44,940 which is almost three times the level of Scotland, while in Wales the level is £35,780 and in Northern Ireland £24,500. Overall students debt in England is now over £200 billion.

“Ministers are taking strong action to help students through the cost of living crisis. The Scottish Government provides funding to colleges and universities to support students experiencing financial hardship and have confirmed an uplift of £900 to HE student support packages for 2023/24. This raises the package for Care Experienced, estranged students and those from the lowest household incomes from £8,100 to £9,000.”