Reported figures from the Student Loan Company show that there has been a 23% increase in student withdrawals from university. Since this statistic emerged during the current cost of living crisis, it is speculated that the rise in dropouts resulted from people’s inability to afford the price of student living.

On September 29th, data published by the Student Loan Company detail the ever-amassing complications converging on student life. Based on interest, the Student Loan Company has been publishing data since December 2020 – with the hopes to detect any growing trends in figures. The company observes official withdrawals by students from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the EU.

The exact figure of withdrawals from the 2021/22 academic year was recorded as 39,758 – the Student Loan Company has determined that this figure is a 23% rise from the 2020/21 academic year.

The National Union of Students have conducted their own research regarding this statistic and have found that a third of students have £50 or less a month to live on after paying rent and bills. They have also studied student cutbacks, which show that 96% of students have been cutting back on their spending.

As a confederation of 600 unions across the UK, the NUS aims to ‘defend, promote, and extend the rights of students.’

The NUS further reports on a disproportionate response from maintenance support for students in the face of growing inflation. With October 1st seeing energy bills doubled since January of this year, the value of student maintenance support has only had an increase of 2.2% for students from England.

Responding to all these emerging figures surrounding student life, costs, and inflation, the NUS Vice President, Chloe Field has stated:

‘These figures are shocking, but not surprising given the cost of living crisis which is pushing students to the brink. We’ve warned that student dropouts could increase as university becomes less affordable, and it could get even worse this year.

‘One in three students are living on £50 a month after paying rent and bills. This is a totally unacceptable situation, but instead of delivering additional support for students, the government is busy prioritising the needs of the richest in society.

‘Students are telling us they can’t afford to continue their studies; they’re having to choose between feeding themselves and carrying on their education. Many can no longer afford to travel to placements, they’re holding down multiple jobs to make ends meet. Inevitably, it is the students from the poorest background who are being disproportionately affected.

‘The government needs to take control of this situation by tying student support with inflation and delivering urgent maintenance grants and bursaries, otherwise student poverty will continue to grow and we’ll see even more dropouts.’

With the government’s plan to provide tax cuts for high-earners, students, especially those from the poorest backgrounds, will receive little help from the measures set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The NUS insists that what student’s need is an increase on maintenance support and other funding.

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