Loan worries for Scottish students

Tens of thousands of students in Scotland will face severe financial difficulties because student loan arrangements have not responded to changes to the structure of the academic year, universities have been warned.

The traditional three-term academic year has been replaced by two "semesters" at many Scottish universities. At Edinburgh University, for example, the first 10-week term is being replaced with a 13-week semester.

But student loan payment dates have not changed, meaning students are having to make money designed to be sufficient for 10 weeks last 13 weeks. They will not be given access to the final third of their money until six weeks before the end of the academic year.

The Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland (Chess) says around 90,000 students are affected.

The organisation has called on the Department for Education and Skills, the Student Awards Agency Scotland and the Student Loans Company to remove rigid restrictions surrounding payment dates and provide a more even distribution of funds that meets the needs of all British students.

The chairman of the coalition and president of Edinburgh University Students' Association, Steve Cockburn, suggested a more flexible system of nine monthly payments.

"It is unacceptable that bureaucratic rigidity and inertia should claim priority over the needs of almost 100,000 students in Scotland who are being failed by the student support system," he said. "The Department for Education and Skills need to focus some of its attention north of the border and act to prevent what could be a serious, but unnecessary student hardship.

"It should be an easily resolvable situation given the right political will and we hope that our campaign receives a constructive response and a co-operative solution."

He said the first student loan instalment would leave Edinburgh students with around ?62.50 per week - less than the cheapest rent in university accommodation.

The Labour MP for Edinburgh South, Nigel Griffiths, said: "It is only reasonable to review the payment times as a matter of urgency and ensure that no student suffers hardship.

"I represent many of the 30,000 students in Edinburgh and I have put the case to [the education secretary] Charles Clarke and I hope for a sympathetic response."

The Green party member of the Scottish parliament for Lothians, Mark Ballard, has tabled a motion calling for the situation to be resolved.

"If students are to be supported by student loans, then these loans must be paid when students need them," he said.

The Student Loans Company said it would like to see a system of nine monthly instalments, but claimed it would need ?250,000 from the DfES to do this.