Higher Student Loan Interest Will Restrict Access To University For Muslims

Fri, 05 Nov 2010

Muslim student leaders in England have voiced their concerns over the recently confirmed changes to student finance .

The government has approved plans to raise tuition fees to up to £9,000 and increase interest rates on student loans for higher-earning graduates .

But the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOIS) warns that the changes will make loans unusable for many Muslim students as interest charges are not permitted under Islamic finance rules.

FOSIS says changes to loan interest rates "ignore the sensitivities of many Muslim students and greatly restrict their accessibility to higher education ".

"Many Muslim students are averse to interest due to teachings in the Islamic faith - such interest derails accessibility to higher education," comments Nabil Ahmed, president of the FOSIS.

"People are already drowning in debt," he adds. "We don't want people to be priced out of university ."

The government has defended the plans for university finance as "progressive", arguing that graduates will pay less each month, part-time students will no longer be faced with unfair, upfront fees, and the poorest graduates will pay considerably less for higher education than they currently do today.
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