Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Local students currently pay tuition fees of £3,805 at Queen's University and Ulster University,

The amount loaned to Northern Irish students to pay university tuition fees rose to £173m in 2014/15.

That is an increase from £154m in 2013/14 and £130m in 2012/13.

The average amount loaned to each local student also rose to £4,350 in 2014/15 from £3,930 in 2013/14.

The figures have been released by the Student Loans Company (SLC), which is government owned.

While local students currently pay tuition fees of £3,805 at Queen's University and Ulster University, they can pay fees of up to £9,000 if they study in England, Scotland or Wales.

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that around three in 10 full-time local students study at universities elsewhere in the UK.

Students can also take out a maintenance loan for living costs, which is capped at £3,750 if they live with their parents, and £4,840 if they live away from home.

The total amount of maintenance loans paid to local students in 2014/15 remained relatively static at £132m.

The figures released by the SLC also show that 60% of local students receive some form of maintenance grant, which is means tested and does not have to be repaid.

In 2014/15 almost four in 10 Northern Irish students got a full maintenance grant of £3,475, which meant they came from a home where the annual income was less than £19,200.

Interest rate

Chancellor George Osborne has decided to scrap maintenance grants for students in England from 2016/17.

However, DEL minister Stephen Farry has decided not to follow suit, keeping maintenance grants for Northern Irish students.

In Northern Ireland, loans begin to be paid back when the student enters employment and earns more than £17,335 per year.

The interest rate for loans is currently 1.5% and the more a graduate earns, the bigger proportion of their loan they repay.

The vast majority of students referred to in the SLC's figures are Northern Irish students studying at universities in Northern Ireland or in the UK, although EU students studying in Northern Ireland are also included in the figures.