The size of the loans change every year but approximately they can be the maximum of £4,500 pa for a student living in London, £3,500 pa for a student living anywhere else in the UK, and £3000 pa for a student who lives with his parents.

This is in itself the reason most students do not like the SLC, the fact the loans are far to small to be lived upon without either a p/t job or rich parents, yet are far too large to be taken unfair advantage of by the more privileged students. The poorer students have to use their study time working to pay for rent and food that is if their university tolerates part time working, while the students of rich parents can use the SLC loans to borrow, at some very nice interest free rates, holidays in the Alps or Africa during the summer break.

The Student Loan Company will get their money, they will hunt you down like the scumsucking leech of a student you are if neccessary, and they will get every last penny back.

(I personally plan to move to Iraq, Cuba or North Korea as soon as I finish University, to escape this evil Loan Shark Government. Beatnig was bang on with - "They are the cowboys and I am the Indian")

Alas Smith And Loans.

it is said that one of the primary functions of government is to take its citizens/constituents hard-earned in the form of taxes

In many countries, the governments channel variable fractions of these taxes to make education free (notwithstanding the cost of uniforms, books, equipment, etc.).

Imagine, then, if you will, aforesaid government charging its youngest and brightest for (what is now) the privilege of gaining qualifications to earn more money to pay more tax.

Then imagine further these young hopefuls having to loan this course money off their government and, in addition, having to pay market interest rates - compound interest rates!

Upon graduation,the youthful would-be careerist is and will be lumbered with the need to repay (via the tax system) the principal amount and the interest (both compounding) once his or her gross income reaches a set floor - currently in the region of NZ$13, 000 p.a.

There has been precious little national benefit in evidence from this programme. An enormous amount of harm, however, has long been acutely and painfully obvious.

Perhaps chief among them is an unending skill- and brain-drain. Recent medical and nursing graduates, in particular, are exiting the country in droves.

These folks, and those who remain, now owe in excess of seven billion dollars.