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The SNP were accused yesterday of failing young Scots by allowing student loan debt to double since they took office eight years ago.

Nicola Sturgeon faced heavy flak at First Minister’s Questions over her party’s handling of the education system.

The focus on further education continued a week of pressure from opposition MSPs on the SNP’s record from primary schools to universities.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Kezia Dugdale said students from low-income backgrounds can rack up debts as high as £27,000 – more than the average annual salary.

Dugdale also claimed working-class children are having to take on more debt because bursaries have been cut.

She said later: “Since the SNP took office in 2007, they have cut the budget for bursaries and grants by £40million.

“That’s £40million less for students who have the talent to get on in life but don’t have the financial resources of their better-off peers.

(Image: Fraser Bremner)

“It’s thousands of working-class kids who have the grades to be nurses, engineers or doctors but can only get the extra support they need by borrowing more.

“Despite promising to dump student debt, the reality is that under the SNP it has doubled. That’s not a record to be proud of.

“The SNP’s time in office has been a mixture of ups and downs on education – student debt is up and student bursaries and grants are down. In light of the SNP’s new transparent approach on education, Nicola Sturgeon should admit that she has let Scotland’s students down.”

The SNP promised in 2007 to “dump the debt” – but the level of average annual student debt has more than doubled from £2360 in 2008 to £5020 in 2014.

Sturgeon defended her record by comparing the £7600 Scottish average cumulative debt with the £20,100 average facing students in England.

The SNP leader also hit back at Labour for hypocrisy on student fees.

(Image: Fraser Bremner)

She was angry that Dugdale claimed credit for Labour’s decision to “abolish” fees – despite Labour being responsible for setting them in the first place.

Sturgeon said: “Labour removed tuition fees from the front end of education and put them on the back end of education. That is not abolishing tuition fees.

“I know that Labour live in a parallel universe these days – and given that the real universe for Scottish Labour is a pretty miserable place to be, who can blame them? However, pretending that they abolished tuition fees really takes the biscuit.

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“Perhaps it is insulting the Scottish people’s intelligence in that way that has resulted in Labour being in the dire position that they are in today.

“I will continue to do the job that I have to do in making improvements where we need to do that.

“That is precisely why we have established the widening access commission to look at how we make it possible for more students from deprived areas to go to university.”

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