Letter: Student loans

Sir: The fact that students are likely to graduate with debts of up to pounds 10,000 is already proving a deterrent to many young people who would otherwise have seized the opportunity to benefit from higher education.

The promise that student loans will only need to be repaid once graduates can afford so to do is only worth as much as the trust which students have in their government. As we are deprived of the maintenance grant which was so staunchly defended by the present government when it was in opposition, students have good cause to think carefully before accepting government statements.