Students Hit By Loan Delays

Fri, 18 Sep 2009

Tens of thousands of university goers will be starting their higher education courses without full funding because of problems with the student loans system.

With the new academic year set to begin over the next two weeks, the Student Loans Company (SLC) has confirmed that between 50,000 to 60,000 students may not receive their full student loan or grant when they start their terms due to delays in processing applications.

Thousands of students who applied for finance in the last four weeks are yet to have their claims processed as SLC officials are only processing applications made in "mid to late August".

The SLC said it is struggling to cope with a sudden increase in the number of people applying for university funding this year, which has been driven by record numbers of students starting degree courses in 2009.

Derek Ross, deputy chief executive of the SLC, also admitted the company had "underestimated" the number of phone calls it would receive.

A spokesman said the group had now taken on an extra 120 staff and increased the number of telephone lines by 50 per cent to deal with calls from worried students .

The Conservatives branded the delays an "appalling administrative cock-up" and urged ministers to explain how they are dealing with the problems.

David Willetts, the party’s shadow universities secretary, said: "It would be a tragedy if the Government's failure led to students dropping out of university because they cannot afford to support themselves."
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