Students 'should not worry about university finance issues'

Monday, March 22nd 2010

Britons who want a university education should not be discouraged by the potential financial issues surrounding student loans.

This is the advice of Dr Tessa Stone, chief executive of national educational charity BrightsideUNIAID.

She said: "Try not to be put off, try not to worry about it. If it does happen again, there will be a lot of people in the same boat."

Her comments follow a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), which found that there were "substantial risks" involved in the student loans service this year, because the Student Loans Company (SLC) will become responsible for first and second-year students.

Last year the SLC took over from local authorities in processing applications for new students.

The NAO report found that only 46 per cent of applications were fully processed by the start of term in 2009.

However, Dr Stone explained this means universities will be closely watching the SLC, so students should continue to complete applications efficiently and before the deadline.