Students in Scotland Overstretched and Overdrawn
 

A report published by NUS Scotland this week calls for the Scottish government to increase the minimum support available to students, following a Scotland-wide survey that shows that the majority of students are in some form of financial debt.

The survey, ‘Hardship Survey: Overstretched and Overdrawn’, found that 2/3 of students are in debt to family and friends, 61% have student loan debt, and over half have commercial debt. The NUS calculate national average student debt at £21,000 at the end of their degree.

It also found that 70% of students in work are working more than the 10 hours recommended by the 1999 Cubie Report (Student Finance: Fairness for the Future) – the vast majority doing so in order to supplement their income.

NUS Scotland now calls on the government to:
1)    Increase the minimum loan available to students
2)    Increase support for the poorer students, through a mixture of loans and grants.
3)    Top-slice £2m of the £30m earmarked by the Scottish government for 2010-11 to create a childcare entitlement.

774 students at St Andrews completed the survey (the third highest number in Scotland) and we will be receiving a breakdown of the results for St Andrews on Friday 14th August, and formulating our response.