Student loans are broken. Peter Ainsworth, author of the IEA’s “Shares in Students” paper, joins Callum Price to explain why the current system fails everyone involved. Graduates face ballooning debts that never shrink despite years of payments, whilst the Government estimates losses of £10 billion per year on current loans. Universities receive guaranteed funding regardless of whether students get good jobs, creating perverse incentives that harm outcomes.

Peter argues that student loans are fundamentally mis-sold to young people, with websites obscuring the reality of £50,000 debts and compound interest. Middle earners are trapped in a psychological nightmare, whilst low earners carry “fantasy loans” and high earners pay theirs off quickly. The system subsidises universities rather than students, with humanities students cross-subsidising expensive STEM courses despite lower expected earnings.

The solution? Abolish the Office for Students, allow universities to lend directly to students, and save taxpayers an estimated £200 billion. This is a broken system that needs radical reform.

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