Outstanding loan debt owed by students in Scotland has reached a record £7.6 billion with a union saying it shows how the education system is in "crisis".
Students from Scotland - where tuition is free for residents - on average each owe £15,400 when they started repaying in 2023, £660 more in a year, and well over double the £6930 of debt incurred ten years ago.
According to figures from the Student Loans Company (SLC), which administers tuition and maintenance loans across the UK, the loan balance has more than doubled since 2013/14 when it was £3.1m. The loan debt has risen by £600m in just one year.
The analysis which covers Scottish students who are studying or have studied in higher education (HE) and further education (FE) in the whole of the UK including Scotland found that in 2022-23 alone, they took out loans worth over £590m.
And the interest on the loans is also skyrocketing.
It was at £40.1m in 2013/14 but has risen to a record £189.2m in 2022/23. In just one year interest levels have soared by over two-and-a-half times from £74.8m in 2021/22, with the rise in inflation being blamed meaning maximum interest rates rose from 1.5% to 5%.
