News & Views item - March 2007

 

 

UK Chancellor to Privatise Student Loans. (March 16, 2007)

     Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in bringing down his 2007 budget will announce the privatisation of student loans worth an estimated £16bn to give him extra funds for education.

 

While the UK Treasury will get an immediate cash injection those that will buy the loans, e.g. banks, pension funds and other investors, will get, according to The Guardian, a "steady long-term income from graduates guaranteed by the government and collected painlessly by the Inland Revenue from their pay packets," and in any case defaulting is expected to be rare.

 

For those interested, the current Higher Education Contribution Scheme's (HECS) accumulated debt is estimated by the Department of Education, Science and Training to be just under $13.3bn which on a per capita basis would by comparable to £16.3bn.

 

Now perhaps Ms Bishop rather than bringing her whip and chair along to keep the academics and university administrators cowering on their perches, might get the Treasurer, Peter Costello, to privatise HECS remembering of course to use the money for the benefit of the universities.

 

Oh course she will; how could you think otherwise?