A new student loan system finally on the cards?

Thursday 20 July 2017

A local bank has come forward with proposals for a long-awaited university loan system for Jersey students - but there are fears that the plans are not being taken “sufficiently seriously” by Ministers.

Chief Minister Ian Gorst told the States Assembly on Tuesday that “good work” was being done by a Ministerial Sub-Committee tasked with finding a solution to the longstanding issue of rocketing university tuition fees, which had seen some Island parents remortgage their homes in order to pay.

He said that the group remained committed to ensuring that access to university “is determined by performance and not financial means” by expanding local courses and exploring non-UK options.

Under questioning by Deputy Louise Doublet over the how many meetings the sub-committee had recently held, however, Senator Gorst said that he could not recall, claiming, “Not enough. It may have been one, it may not be." 

Pictured: Senator Gorst told the States that he was "disappointed" by the slow work of his fellow Ministers on the issue.

But he lay the blame with other Ministers, slamming them for an apparent lack of help and engagement, even after a bank had suggested a loan solution - something for which local parents and students had doggedly lobbied the government over a number of years.

“It should not fall to me to do the work for other departments and other Ministers… I am disappointed that the work has not been progressed faster than I asked for it to be,” he said. “There has been some good work with a local bank that have come forward with a model for what student loans could look like, but it’s not been taken sufficiently seriously.”

Asked by Express, Senator Gorst declined to provide further details of the potential scheme or the sub-committee's activities.

He nonetheless pledged during the States sitting that a funding solution would be in place by September 2018 and proposed in that year’s budget. He admitted, however, that a “stop-gap” solution for students wondering whether they’ll be able to afford beginning university this September had not been considered.

Pictured: The Treasury Department is said to have made progress with a bank over a potential student loans system.

Following the news, a spokesperson for pressure group the Jersey Student Loan Support Group (JSLSG) commented: “Sadly nothing in place for this September. But at least one tried, though our Education Minister didn't appear to want to support that effort! Which is very surprising you would think he'd like to help, he keeps saying he does, but as always actions speak louder than words.”

The issue of student financing has been a thorny issue on the Island since the UK Conservative Party decided to increase annual university tuition fees to £9,000 in 2012. Those fees are now set to escalate to £9,250. At present, loans of £1,500 and grants are available to islanders, but a Scrutiny Panel concluded earlier this year that they would not be enough alone to fully support a Jersey student throughout higher education.

In their manifesto, Reform Jersey suggested taxing the Island’s top earners in order to fully fund all island students through university. At the time, JSLSG said that it would welcome any suggestions for systems providing equal access to higher education regardless of income, but on Tuesday, Senator Gorst rubbished claims that Reform's proposal was the correct solution.