Thousands of EU students failing to repay loans

Since 2006, foreign students from EU countries have been eligible for UK student loans.

New statistics, as reported in the _Telegraph_, show that 45 per cent of EU students who should have started to repay their loans have not.

The majority of those who are not paying are classified as “Not currently repaying – further information required to establish correct repayment status”, implying that they have returned to their home countries and been lost by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

By way of making a comparison, only 2 per cent of UK students have either disappeared or are in arrears.

As of 2010, 28 per cent of the University of Warwick’s student population was foreign, making it the fourth largest recruiter of foreign students in the country.

Student opinion was divided. One History of Art student, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s unfair that we should pay our loans back but the Europeans come and get what is essentially a free education.”

John Liddle, a first-year Economics student, agreed that it was “morally wrong”, adding that: “At the end of the day, it’s thieving really, isn’t it?”

However, he also thought that if UK students had the opportunity to avoid repaying their student loans, then similar numbers would take it; “I don’t think they [UK students] would have any moral qualms about doing it, it’s just much harder for them to move abroad.”

On the other hand, all British students spoken to said that they were in favour of foreign students studying in the UK.

Ethan Dabush, a first-year student from Belgium, has taken out a student loan and fully intends to pay it back.

He agreed that it was morally wrong not to do so, saying: “You can’t just leave and not pay.”

He also foresaw no difficulty in paying his own loan back, saying that the system was “really well organised”. Higher education is free in Belgium but he is confident that the quality of a Warwick degree will be worth the money in the long run.

As tuition fees rise to £9,000 next year, the amount of money given to EU students as student loans will increase sharply.

The SLC cannot get ex-students in foreign countries to repay their loans without that person’s cooperation.

Theoretically, they can obtain judgements in British courts which can be enforced in other EU countries, but the costs of tracking them down and bringing them to court can outweigh the money owed.