It is important to note that "debt" is perhaps a misleading term when considering student loans in the UK. The money must be repaid as a percentage of earnings (9% of everything earned above £27,295, so if you don't earn above £27,295 you don't pay anything), and after 30 years any remaining debt is wiped. In this way the "debt" is much more equivalent to a tax than a loan.

Money Saving Expert have a very good guide that details this further [1].

[1] https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tui...

I don't think it's a simple as MSE makes out

* debt incurs interest at rates way above what someone could get a personal loan for

* it still affects people's ability to borrow when it comes to house buying etc

* if your parents are rich enough to pay your fees then you don't pay the tax

* if you earn enough to pay of the debt quickly they you'll pay less than someone with a middling income who earns enough to pay a lot but not clear the debt

Just make a proper graduate tax instead is my view

100% agree on just making it a tax at this point. We're basically at a point where it is a tax, except: 1. The very rich can stop paying it, and 2. People who end up wanting to change degrees too late down the line end up falling through the cracks and aren't given the option to try another degree (again, unless they're very rich)

Exactly. It is still a scam. Even worse if you're doing a degree that has little to no job prospects. For example, 'Why you should not do a PhD in History.' [0]

I do not blame the students of this year to dispute about paying for the university fees when they are going to either retake because their exams were cancelled (due to COVID) or the quality of the course was not good enough and is not worth it.

COVID just made it even glaringly obvious and worse.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27580605

uk student debt isnt real debt. it functions more as a tax where the middle class pay more overall than the poor or the rich.

the loan has a very low interest rate, you wont ever get another loan like this, and if you never earn above a certain limit you never have to pay it. its a very good thing. the degree costing 9k however is bullshit