The universities minister has reportedly said student loan repayments cost the same as buying a cup of “posh coffee” every day.

Speaking at a science and engineering debate at the Royal Society, Greg Clark said it was important people did not get distracted from the realities of the fees system, saying students only start paying back their loans at a rate of 9% of earnings once they are on salaries above £21,000.

“What that means is if you earn £30,000 as a graduate you pay back £2.22 a day. Now there are people who buy cups of posh coffee for less than that and I think people recognise that that is a phenomenal investment,” he is reported to have said by the Daily Mail.

“It’s not just a good investment for the student, but actually it’s a good investment for the taxpayer,” he said at the event last month.

Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, described Clark’s comments as bizarre and said they showed the Tories were out of touch with the high costs of university education.

“They demonstrate a deeply dismissive attitude towards the real concerns which students and parents have on the cost of a degree,” he said.

Reactions on Twitter, including one from the Guardian’s James Ball, ranged from outrage to bemusement. Some pointed out that repayments of £2.22 a day add up to a significant repayment each month and others disputed the extent to which a £2.22 cup of coffee is actually “posh”.

Greg Clark says tuition fees only cost a 'posh coffee' a day to repay? Out of touch. It's more like two steak bakes. — Dominic Smith (@domsmithy89) February 3, 2015

In other words: £66 a month (£800 a year) every year for 30 years. No big deal! https://t.co/CKS3tSIgVM — James Ball (@jamesrbuk) February 3, 2015

The coalition increased the cap on the amount universities could charge for tuition from £3,000 to £9,000 a year in 2012. Student debts are written off after 30 years, meaning much of the money will never be paid back.

In March last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility revised down the estimates for student loan repayments by about £2.5bn over the following six years.



Greg Clark's comments are outrageous. A decent coffee a day is an excellent investment too. https://t.co/2AC8sgjzHB — Anthony Painter (@anthonypainter) February 3, 2015

I gave up posh coffee to support my student son and graduate daughter. @gregclarkmp Graduates have commitments too. #tuitionfees — kazbel (@kazbel) February 3, 2015

The Labour party has said it would reduce the cap on fees to £6,000 a year, with a view to replacing it with a graduate tax. But Ed Miliband, who made a promise to end tuition fees a key part of his leadership bid, has resisted pressure from critics to set out his party’s university tuition fees policy and will instead reveal his plans later this month.

