Government plans to prosecute student loan avoiders

The Government has warned that it will prosecute graduates who do not pay back their student loans on time, as part of their ‘Student Loan Repayment for Sustainable Higher Education’ plan.

Minister for Universities Jo Johnson told the Guardian in a statement that the strategy is needed to guarantee the repayment scheme remains “fair, robust, and efficient”.

This comes as the higher education system is taking on more students than ever before, with 592,290 applications last year alone.

This has been steadily increasing over a number of years, with a 3% annual rise in the number of students attending university last year.

However the strategy does mention that higher education is still an “excellent investment” for students, who end up earning significantly more on average than non-graduates.

The document stated that it will “take stronger action to trace borrowers and act to recover loans” where there is evidence of avoidance, but that they will also offer more support to borrowers who seek to make repayments.

This news follows a move made in January where just 17 MPs decided without a House of Commons debate to cut maintenance grants and replace them with bigger loans.

This will mean many poorer students end up with a large amount of debt, up to £8,200 outside London.

Second-year Maths and Physics student Jordan Brett approved of the measures, saying: “Students agreed to the terms when they applied for their loans, and if they do not adhere to those terms then why shouldn’t they be prosecuted?”

Angeli Bhandal, second-year Classics student disagreed, arguing: “It is not a surprise coming from the Tories who seem more and more adamant on screwing over students”.