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Thousands of foreign students who have borrowed taxpayers' money to study in England are failing to repay their loans. The outstanding debt owed by EU student loan borrowers at the end of 2009/10 was £47.4 million. Official figures show that 45 per cent of university students from European Union countries who were liable to start repaying loans had disappeared or were in arrears as of last April. The findings will raise concerns that many of the students, who qualify for subsidised Government loans to cover the cost of tuition fees, could effectively gain a degree for free. By contrast, only two per cent of UK students who were eligible to start repayments had disappeared or were in arrears. Many more had been permitted to defer their repayments because their salaries were below a set threshold. Many of the EU students had returned to their home countries and either failed to inform the Student Loan Company (SLC) of their whereabouts or let their repayments drop. The total outstanding debt liable to be repaid by EU borrowers at the end of 2009/10 was £47.4 million, according to the Department for Business (BIS), which published the figures. If the thousands of students missing or in arrears never pay, more than £20 million would be lost to the Treasury. Among the foreign non-payers, three-quarters have been assessed in the category "Not currently repaying – further information required to establish correct repayment status", suggesting that the SLC has lost track of them. The amount EU students are entitled to borrow will increase sharply this year when tuition fees at English universities increase to £9,000 a year, raising concerns that taxpayers' money will soon be "haemorrhaging" to Europe as unpaid debts mount. Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said that non-repayment by overeas students was "inherent in the system." "Many EU students will never pay back their loans. We were never going to be able to recover loan debts from EU students to the same level as domestic students. "It is inherent in the system. Presumably to identify who these students are and try to sue them would be logistically very difficult, and the cost would be huge." The SLC has powers to deduct money directly from the wages of graduates who find jobs in Britain, but for graduates who live and work overseas it is forced to rely on their co-operation in giving up-to-date information about their earnings and making their own arrangements to pay. Graduates are warned that non-payment can mean a penalty charge or a demand that the loan is repaid in one lump sum. Officials can obtain judgments in British courts – which are enforced by those in other EU countries – to chase debts, but such action is rare. Figures from Universities UK, the vice-chancellors' group, show that EU students account for one-in-20 of the total number of undergraduates and postgraduates in UK institutions.
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Is anyone truly surprised? This Country is one of the few that carries out european rules and directives to the letter of the law. Thats why we are swamped with hordes of avaricious east europeans whilst simultaneously saddled with non-contributing non-europeans who will all demand benefits instead of being a benefit! Students, illegal immagrants, alleged refugee's, the indolent and the work-shy. They all milk a system predjudiced against hard working natives, of whatever colour race or religion, who live within the law and a common code of decency. Why should foriegn students be expected to be any different when it comes to fleecing the working people of this country? The blame lies squarely with the feeble and toothless politicians who are run by their masters in Brussels.
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January 26, 2012
Don't Blame Them
This is just not on, especially in the current financial climate. That said, this appears to be the system shooting itself in the foot. Notice I did not say "us" or "we". We are talking about English University charges brought into being by a British Government,voted into law on the back of Scottish MP's amongst others.
Regarding they system, I cannot argue on facts any further as I suspect (but do not know) that one of the reasons that a student loan facility is offered to EU Students is due to EU Directives. The same directives that snidely allow EU Students to study in Scotland whilst then appearing to back off when English students studying at the same establishments are charged a fee commensurate with those they could be expected to pay in England. What is clear is that this is another element of the Apartheid being practised against the English Peoples. Currently there is no English body whose voice can be heard. By implication, in this case as in others, we are forced to sit still and say nothing, whilst Westminster MP's (of every country) tells us what is just. It could be argued that the majority of Westminster MP's are in fact English, my response to this is simple. Whilst it is true; the political parties these English MP's represent are British and NOT English. It follows that in all areas, these British MP's from English constituencies represent British political powers that have their foot very firmly on English necks. The Winds of Change are blowing and the English are waking up.
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January 27, 2012
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Foreign Students Fail to Repay Loans
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