DfE axes plans to make weekend students repay loans immediately

The government will no longer force approximately 22,000 students to pay back their maintenance loans immediately, instead allowing the students to repay under the normal terms. 

Thousands of students who were enrolled on weekend-only courses had been told they would need to repay their maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company (SLC) after government officials said they should never have been granted in the first place. 

According to the government, weekend-only students are classified as enrolled on “distance learning” courses, regardless of whether they study on campus, and are therefore ineligible for maintenance loans. Affected students had been informed that they would be blocked from further loans and would need to begin repaying the ones they had received, even if they were still studying. 

But following a public campaign, the government announced in parliament on 20 April that the students can now repay their loans through the usual student finance route, and repayments of childcare grants are paused until “at least” September.

Amira Campbell, president of the National Union of Students, said: “For the 22,000 students who were being asked to pay back as much as £55,000 on an incredibly sped up timeline, this will be a huge relief.

“They have fought so hard against the withdrawal of their maintenance loans and childcare grants, and not having to start paying them back as soon as next month will have taken some pressure off of both their mental health and bank accounts.

“The government is still refusing to provide the future funding that all students are eligible for, meaning that many of these students have been considering dropping out mid-way through the degrees they have worked so hard for,” Campbell added. 

“This is a good first step, but we need the government to confirm that they will continue to fund current weekend students' studies until this cohort finishes their courses.”

The dispute had led to a group of nine universities, whose students were affected by the decision, commencing plans to take legal action against the government.

 A statement released by the universities said the announcement “appears to be progress, but leaves many more questions than answers”. 

“It is disgraceful that this was announced in parliament first, before any of the affected students or impacted universities were told,” it said.

“Our students are naturally contacting us with questions, many of whom are among the most vulnerable, many are parents, many are from low-income backgrounds, many chose weekend study precisely because it was the only way they could access higher education around work and family commitments.

“We urge the SLC to release urgent communications to students and universities to clarify the specifics of this latest development to reassure students who have been plunged into anxiety and confusion in recent weeks due to contradictory advice and a refusal to answer their customers’ queries.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com