Student loans - parents slam lack of response

Friday 02 June 2017

A group representing parents and students crippled by university costs have hit out at the Council of Ministers for failing to make any formal response 11 weeks after a damning report concluded that Jersey spends less money to support its university students compared to almost anywhere else in Europe.

A report by the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel published in March concluded that Ministers’ current “do nothing” policy was failing students and, “…damag[ing] the Island by starving it of the skills necessary to thrive in today’s world.”

While it is customary for Ministers to respond to Scrutiny’s criticisms and suggestions within six weeks, the Student Loan Support Group (JSLSG) blasted the Chief Minister and Education Minister yesterday for having provided no formal response in more than 11.

During the last States sitting in May, the Chief Minister had pledged a response, “…shortly and before the end of the month”, but it won’t be until the next States sitting on 6 June that a response is given by the Treasury Minister.

In a deeply critical Facebook post, a spokesperson for JSLSG said:

“To date there has always been delays to any promise made, to either us, States Assembly, or it as it seems scrutiny either, and when something has been produced it has said nothing useful to change the funding situation.”

Nicola Heath, one of the lead campaigners of the Jersey Student Loan Support Group, told Express that the group were fed up of being “ignored” by the States.

Pictured: Scrutiny found that some parents have been remortgaging their homes and dipping into their pension pots in order to fund the rocketing tuition fees - now up to £9,250 in some universities.

Instead of being teased by prospects of help – such as through hints of a scheme funded by a philanthropic investor, who has not been mentioned since by the Education Minister – she says the group simply want some closure.

“I sometimes think that they must have some grand plan, but they just haven’t told anyone else. In some respects, if they came out and said, “We’re not going to change it, you’ll just have to live with it as it is and that’s just tough”, at least people would know rather than, “we’re looking at a loan, we might be able to do something,” and then nothing.”

Mrs Heath argued that the current system, whereby some parents have been remortgaging their homes and dipping into their pension pots in order to fund their children’s education is “unsustainable” and that a refusal from the States to help fund education, “wouldn’t do anything other than putting off the cost until tomorrow.”

“If you start looking at the long-term, if everyone’s doing the same thing – downsizing their homes, taking their pension pots – when they get older, they’re going to need more support than they would have done and they’re likely to put themselves in the bracket for long-term care being funded. And with people living longer, they’re much more likely to have a requirement to use it,” she said.

While during previous Scrutiny hearings the Education Minister had argued for a better on-Island higher education offering, Mrs Heath maintains that this alone would not be adequate:

“It’s nothing to do with Highlands or studying in the EU, or anything else. It’s all about making sure that people have got access and it’s fair wherever it happens to be.”

An Education spokesperson was not available for comment.