80% of women graduates 'won't repay loan' after tuition fees rise



Backlog: When loans are written off, 30 years after graduation, the average woman will still owe £26,500

Around four in five female graduates will never repay their student loan under the Coalition’s new tuition fees regime, it emerged yesterday.

An analysis of the student loan system shows that middle-income men who will finally pay-off their loan at the age of 47-50, will bear the brunt of the cost of higher education.

The figures show that between 70 and 80 per cent of women – up to 150,000 a year – will never repay their full loan, compared with 20 to 30 per cent at present. And when loans are written off, 30 years after graduation, the average woman will still owe £26,500.

Under the new regime, graduates will not have to pay off their loan until they earn £21,000 and women will not have to pay anything when they take time off to raise children.



Many women do not see their earnings rise above £21,000 after childbirth. The analysis found that, overall, students will take 14 or 15 additional years to repay their debts after the cap on tuition fees increases to £9,000 in 2012 – some 24 years in contrast to the current average of ten.

Between 30 and 40 per cent of men will not repay their full loan, compared with less than 10 per cent today. The analysis – by the consultancy London Economics based on official statistics – found that the fees increase will result in 45,000 fewer students going to university.

- Leeds Metropolitan University, a former polytechnic that is ranked only 99th in a table of English universities, yesterday announced that it will charge tuition fees of £8,500 a year.

- Reading University said it would charge £9,000 while Liverpool University is expected to agree the same amount tomorrow.