The Government has revealed that a large number of university leavers have been in debt for a decade and many more could be facing this financial difficulty in the future.

According to recent figures, one-third of university graduates, who have left since the introducing of students loans in 1998, have not made repayments on the money they borrowed to finance their studies, according to the national paper. The Guardian.

This is because around 400,000 students have not earned the minimum salary, which is required to repay student loans. The minimum salary is £15,000 per year and the number of graduates who could earn under this amount is expected to increase in the immediate future as employers are limiting their graduate positions. Related news also showed that an average student debt on leaving school has amounted to £20,000.

Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, made criticisms relating to the interest that is added to student loans. He noted that the 4.8 per cent added to loans each year, supposedly to offset the rate of inflation, made a “myth” loans being cheaper to pay back.

Stephen Williams, Lib Dem spokesman for universities, said: "As the financial crisis worsens the burden on new graduates is going to be even greater."