Huge relief as students previously told to repay erroneous loans get repayment reprieve

The government announced that affected loans would be repaid through the usual student finance route, and repayments on grants would be paused until at least September. The Student Loans Company (SLC) said it would contact students to explain next steps, including eligibility and entitlement, and the repayment process. MPs noted the instruction to collect over-payments through normal repayments and to pause recoveries of overpaid grants until at least September. The government signaled plans to tighten regulations for franchise providers with more than 300 students to register with the Office for Students, a move welcomed by MillionPlus but criticized for the impact on affected students. Amira Campbell of the NUS called the relief significant but warned that many students remain unclear about continuing their studies.

The National Union of Students handed in a petition signed by 13,000 students calling on the government to backtrack.

Nine of the universities involved took the first step towards legal action over what they described as an abrupt decision, risking hardship for mature students on low incomes.

Some students, including those on nursing or teaching courses, were told they had never been entitled to maintenance loans and childcare grants and would have to repay them on an accelerated timescale.

A row was reported in which weekend students were told their courses had never been eligible for student finance and should instead have been classed as distance learning.

The government said that the regulations had been in place since 2011, blaming universities for not being clear through either incompetence or abuse of the system.