Revealed: richer graduates in England will pay less for degree than poorer students
The government’s student loan reforms will benefit the country’s best-paid graduates at the expense of nursing graduates, teachers and other lower- and middle-income earners, new research reveals.
Under the biggest reforms of student loans in England for more than a decade, many lower-paid earners face an increase in their total lifetime repayments of more than £30,000. Meanwhile, the highest-earning graduates will see their lifetime repayments fall on average by £25,000 compared with the previous arrangements, according to an analysis by the economic consultancy London Economics.
The research forecasts that a graduate earning £37,000 by 2030 would pay back £63,100 over the course of their career, while a graduate earning £70,000 would pay back just £55,000.
Gavan Conlon, a senior partner at London Economics, said: “This is effectively a massive subsidy to predominantly white, predominantly male graduates. It’s deeply regressive.”
Patricia Marquis, Royal College of Nursing director for England, said: “These changes are a disgrace and will blatantly disproportionately affect nursing staff.
“It means nurses will be paying back their student debt sooner, more of it, and for longer. At a time when there is a recruitment and retention crisis in the NHS, this will only exacerbate it.”
Student funding and tuition fees have become big political issues for all the main parties. Labour leader Keir Starmer has confirmed he has dropped his pledge to abolish tuition fees, but has said his party will “set out a fairer solution” in the coming weeks. Many young voters struggling in the cost of living crisis are now turning away from the Tories.
The government’s own impact assessment said the student loan reforms were more likely to have a
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