MY REPLY TO THE EMAIL SENT TO ALL SENATORIAL CANDIDATES ON STUDENT LOANS FOLLOWING THE ST PETER HUSTINGS
Thank you for sending me your thoughts on University grants after the hustings at St Peter
I felt that the problem you presented is a huge one. Even when my two went to University, about ten years ago, I reckon it cost me about £X each annually for over about five years. I had to borrow but I had a good job and was able to repay the loan. In the present economy, we know that many parents simply cannot afford to pay out these massive sums to fund university for their children. But we all want the best opportunities for them.
The States system of means tested grants is also unsustainable and we have to be sure that public spending gives best benefit for the island and not produce graduates in subjects where there are no employment prospects. The universities are hugely inefficient; they could reduce their three year degrees in some subjects to one intense year and reduce cost. I am really concerned that they have not responded to need to reduce cost.
We should also build a partnership with a UK University who will cooperate to provide degree courses here, and reduce costs
In the meantime I accept your point, you want action and not a review which will take time and will be too late to help those parents and young people in middle jersey who face the tough decisions to assist their son or daughter or not .
I think you have a point, I am uncomfortable with saddling youngsters with big loans round their neck before they even enter work, but I accept a States run loan scheme would be better than parents taking out loans with finance houses on expensive terms and with no flexibility on repayment and their getting into difficulty.
So I hindsight, I think you are right, as an interim measure we should make the loan arrangements you suggest if we can come up with a workable scheme, but it cant be with the intention of writing off the majority of loans as the UK . The rules on repayment will need careful thought out. But we also have to have the review, as government has to be more confident than we are now, that we get the best benefit from public money whilst enabling our youngsters to take up opportunities to which will set their working lives.
John Young 9 October 2014
THE EMAIL RECEIVED FROM A QUESTIONER AT ST PETER HUSTINGS ABOUT STUDENT LOANS – Sent to all Senatorial Candidates 6 Oct 2014 and approved for publication by the questioner .
I asked a question at the St Peter Senatorial Hustings regarding proposals for student loans, a question I have asked at previous elections.
Senator Ozouf asked me at the end of the evening what I would consider as a solution and I promised to email him and this is my response to his request.
Quite simply Jersey needs an affordable student loan scheme. This will take the financial pressure off parents created by the introduction of tuition fees in the UK in 2016 and put the onus on the student. It is not compulsory to take advantage of this, but it at least offers a solution to these families whose only solution would be to borrow more money and get into further debt at a stage in their lives when they should be saving to avoid becoming a burden on the state in their old age.
Jersey is reputably one of the leading finance centres of the world. How can this be the case if Jersey is incapable of establishing an affordable student loan scheme that provides Jersey students with an opportunity to study away from the Island. Most developed countries offer loan schemes for their students, so why is Jersey incapable of doing so?
One candidate emphasised that he did not want to see students getting into debt. Is their parents getting into debt at the end of their careers more palatable?
I am urging all of you candidates to prove to the Island that you are capable of solving this, it should not be difficult. Please do not go down the ‘full review’ route yet again.
So, Senator Ozouf and our other candidates, please demonstrate that you are worthy of becoming a States Member, and solve this problem not by another review, but by liaising with the finance houses who are fortunate enough to operate here. and by providing the guarantees required to set a simple loan scheme up.
I look forward to hearing about your proposals.
A questioner at St Peter hustings (who has agreed to publication)
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