IRELAND: Students face hefty debts under loan plan

16 January 2011

College graduates would have to repay a debt of at least EUR25,000 (US$32,825) under a student loan scheme being considered by the Department of Education, writes Seán Flynn for The Irish Times.

The establishment of the scheme, and the return of student fees, are key recommendations of the Hunt report on higher education, published last week.
The loan scheme could be run by the European Investment Bank, the National Treasury Management Agency or one of the British companies specialising in this work.

The Hunt report, which charts a course for higher education over the next two decades, says the higher education system requires additional funding of up to EUR500 million (US$656,5 million) a year to keep pace with record student demand and to meet government targets for the economy. Current funding of the sector - largely dependent on the state - is "unsustainable".
Full report on the Irish Times site

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