Students more dependent on parents under loan system | Financial

This is the conclusion of the National Institute for Budget Information (Nibud), after new research among students. The institute argues in favor of adjusting the financing system.

Students also worry about their student debt for their future and try to avoid a loan. Compared to the latest Nibud survey in 2017, the number of students who have taken out borrowing has fallen from 55 percent to 45 percent now. Students living at home in particular have started to borrow less (30 percent now), two thirds of students living away from home are borrowing, according to Nibud in the representative survey of 1,505 full-time students.

To care

The institute is concerned about the financial consequences of students who cannot rely on their parents. “The system assumes that parents can contribute, but with an income around one and a half times the average that is still very difficult. Students with wealthy parents can study without having to borrow, others start their career with a financial disadvantage,” says Nibud director Arjan Vliegenthart.

And if you need a loan, the student debt creates uncertainty about the future. “Everyone can study with student grants, but afterwards a greater unequal situation than necessary will arise,” says Vliegenthart.

Manifest

As a result of the research, the Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg (ISO) presents the manifest Students On Own Legs. In it they argue for the reintroduction of the basic grant of €247 and €460 per month respectively for students living at home and away from home. The ISO also wants to broaden the supplementary grant for students of parents who earn less than €70,000 per year. Children of parents who earn between €49,000 and €69,000 now fall between two stools because parents often cannot contribute, but they also cannot claim that grant.

“We see that students have become more dependent on their parents and therefore less financially independent,” says ISO chair Lisanne de Roos. In addition, according to Roos, in the current system there is “much more (performance) pressure on your shoulders when your parents cannot contribute to your studies and livelihood.” The ISO hopes that the manifesto will be discussed at the formation table.

Mental pressure

Student union LSVb and FNV Young & United are also concerned about the mental pressure that the student loan system entails. “Students have been burdened by the loan system for years. Even if you work 12 hours a week, you won’t be able to make ends meet. As a result, you start your working life with a sky-high student debt,” says LSVb chairman Ama Boahene. Because, according to the research, students living away from home are short of €789 per month, according to the unions, they are forced to borrow. That is why they also want the student loan system to be replaced by the basic grant and demand that the generation that has studied under it be fully compensated.

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