Eleanor Harding features Fairer Fees in an article for the Daily Mail. 

Eight in ten of today’s students will never fully repay their tuition fee loans, a study has claimed. Research by educational charity The Sutton Trust suggests that an increase in the repayment threshold means 81 per cent of graduates will not pay back what they owe the Government. The decision to raise the minimum earnings level at which loan repayments kick in – from £21,000 to £25,000 – means a much larger pool of low earners will never make any repayments. Eight in ten of today’s students will never fully repay their tuition fee loans, a study has claimed. Above, University of London students protest against tuition fees yesterday

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The report, called Fairer Fees, found the typical graduate will leave university with debts of around £46,000. But for those from households in the lowest 40 per cent of earners, the debts rise to £52,000 because they are also entitled to take out maintenance loans to cover living costs. This is almost double the level of debt with which American graduates leave university.

Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said: ‘It’s shocking that four in five graduates won’t repay their loans and that the Treasury won’t get back nearly half of what’s lent. ‘At the same time, poorer students are graduating with higher debt than well-off students. We need reform so the system is fairer for both students and taxpayers.’

The analysis found that the reforms announced by Prime Minister Theresa May last month will save graduates an average of £8,000 over their lifetime. However, they will also increase the long-term costs to the taxpayer by £2.9billion for each annual student intake.

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Read the full article here.