§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to ensure 461W that student loans associated with top-up fees are available to students whose faith precludes the charging of interest. [134497]
§ Alan JohnsonStudent loans are not commercial loans. The Government uprates the value of the outstanding loan in line with the general rate of inflation, to make sure that all borrowers pay back the same amount that they borrowed in real terms. We understand that some students believe that this precludes them from taking out such a loan. However, a recent survey of students by religious group, conducted for the report "Minority Ethnic Students in Higher Education", found that 64 per cent. of Muslims reported having a student loan; that was only slightly less than Hindu groups (66 per cent.), Sikh groups (66 per cent.) and Christian groups 169 per cent.)1
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has met representatives from the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) on 8 July to discuss their concerns regarding student loans. Officials from my Department have also held further discussions with FOSIS representatives recently and will continue to do so.
1 Source:
IES/Mori Survey 2002. All figures are taken from table 6.3 of the report "Minority Ethnic Students in Higher Education", which was published in July 2003.