NI institutions drop hard line on loans

Northern Ireland's two universities have climbed down after threatening action against hard-up undergraduates who have failed to repay emergency loans issued when the Student Loans Company failed to provide cash in time.

The University of Ulster has paid out a total of Pounds 128,000 and is still owed more than Pounds 42,000 of it. Queen's University, Belfast, is believed to be almost Pounds 50,000 out of pocket. The universities have agreed to regard the money as access funds that require repayment.