Students in the UK are becoming more and more in debt because they are not being taught the difference between student loans and other forms of credit, a debt education charity has warned.
Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said students are being given the message that it’s fine to be in debt as it is "basically impossible" to get into difficulties with student loans .
Tapp believes students should be taught the difference between student loans and other debts such as overdrafts and credit cards to help them avoid financial problems at a later date.
"It’s important to make a distinction between the kind of burden that you face with student debt as opposed to any other type of debt," he said.
"I don’t think that’s been done as effectively as it could have been by the government and others."
He added: "We now have a generation for whom you’re extremely odd if you’re not in a substantial amount of debt . It’s that culture of borrowing that student loans have really fed into."
Two years ago, prior to the start of the credit crunch, Tapp warned that student loans were encouraging undergraduates to "live beyond their means".
Student Loans Encouraging Debt Culture
Tue, 25 Aug 2009
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