Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The mistake affects 31 students from NI who began master's degrees at English universities in September 2016

More than 30 NI students have had offers of loans to fund their postgraduate study withdrawn, the BBC has learned.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) said "human error" on their part was to blame.

The mistake affects 31 students who began Master's degrees at English universities in September 2016.

They have been told that loans of up to £10,000 were "incorrectly awarded" to them, and they will not receive them.

The parent of one of the affected students said their son had been left "distraught" and "in limbo" due to the error.

They did not want to be identified as their son is considering appealing the decision by the SLC to withdraw the loan offer.

'Arrangements'

They said their son had signed a number of agreements after being originally told he would get the £10,000 loan.

"He finalised the arrangements for his accommodation and he travelled over to England to register with the university and settled in to his new accommodation," they said.

"The letter he got from Student Finance England, which approved his loan, said the expected payment date of the first instalment would be 26 September.

"However, when he checked his bank account and the money wasn't there he telephoned the Student Loans Company to find out what had happened and it was at that stage they told him he wouldn't be getting the money.

"He was on the phone telling me what had happened, asking: 'What'll I do? Am I going to have to come home? What about my rent? What about my master's course? How am I going to pay for this?'"

They said their son does not know if he will be able to raise the money to complete his master's degree.

"He is still in limbo," they said.

Image copyright PA Image caption Thirty-one Northern Irish students received letters from Student Finance England, on behalf of the SLC, in early September which confirmed they would receive a loan

"This is causing a lot of stress to students and their families and it's messing about with people's lives."

A student loan system for postgraduate Master's degrees - which usually take a year to complete - began in England in September 2016.

The government-backed loans are worth up to £10,000 and can be used to pay tuition fees and living costs.

Eligibility

Thirty-one Northern Irish students received letters from Student Finance England, on behalf of the SLC, in early September, which confirmed they would receive a loan.

The students had completed undergraduate degrees in England and believed they were eligible for the postgraduate funding there.

However, the students were subsequently notified, after the university year had started in late September, that the funding had been "incorrectly awarded" and that they would not receive their loan after all.

They were told that they did not "meet the residency requirements to be eligible for a postgraduate loan," as they had moved to England to study.

NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran said the withdrawal of loan offers was a "very troubling development that could have massive negative ramifications for the 31 students affected".

"These students will likely have planned and budgeted their year ahead on the basis of having this loan after being given an offer of this loan," he said.

"Why should the financial situation of these students potentially be put in jeopardy because of a change of mind from the Student Loans Company? I do not see how the Student Loans Company can see this as an acceptable situation."

In a statement to the BBC, SLC said that the mistake arose "as a result of human error in the interpretation of the regulations when processing" the loan applications.

"If a student believes that the decision Student Finance England made in relation to their funding application is incorrect they have the right to appeal," they said.