2015年经济学人 学生贷款 学费问题

Britain Student loans Fees fi fo fum

The new student loans system is proving more expensive than expected

POLITICAL apologies are rarely so awkward.

In 2012 Nick Clegg,the Liberal Democrat¹ leader,explained in a short film why he had broken a promise to vote against raising university tuition fees.

I shouldn't have committed to a policy that was so expensive when there's no money around, he said.

Mr Clegg has now lost even that excuse.

It appears that the new student loans scheme could in fact cost the government more than the old one.

Yet that does not mean that Mr Clegg's U-turn was a mistake.

When the coalition² government raised fees paid by students in England (Scotland and Wales have their own policies) from around 3,300 to 9,000 a year,

the idea was to boost universities' incomes while cutting the amount of taxpayer³ cash spent on undergraduate teaching.

State-backed student loans,repayable only when graduates begin earning,were extended to cover the cost of the higher fees.

This,it was thought,would stoke competition in higher education while also helping⁴ to reduce the deficit⁵.

The system can save the government money only if students do indeed repay their loans.

Under the rules,graduates repay 9% of any income they earn over 21,000.

Meanwhile,debt accumulates interest at the rate of inflation plus up to 3%.

If they are not fully⁶ repaid,loans are written off after 30 years.

(Student debts incurred⁷ before 2012 are forgiven after 25 years—but fees,interest rates and the repayment⁸ threshold are all lower,too.)

One consequence of increasing tuition fees is that a far smaller proportion of students will repay their debt in full under the new system than under the old one.

And recently,as the salaries of new graduates have stagnated,the forecasts have become even less optimistic.

According to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal⁹ Studies (IFS),a think-tank,73% of graduates will not repay their loans in full.

The government now expects to recover just 55% of its costs,against an estimate of 72% in 2010.

Yet in other ways the loan system is working impressively.

With the worrying exception of part-timers,few students have been deterred¹⁰ from applying to university.

Last year the proportion of 18- and 19-year-olds entering was the highest ever.

Between 2011 and 2013 the number of students who had been entitled to free school meals entering the most academically demanding universities jumped by 39%.

The IFS analysis also shows that the new system is remarkably¹¹ progressive—those students who go on to earn the largest salaries pay back the most.

Better,universities do appear to be getting more competitive as a result.

Sir Steve Smith,vice-chancellor¹² of Exeter University,says that since fees were increased,students have become savvier

insisting that academics actually mark their essays within a few weeks,for instance.

Applications to the best-ranked universities have leapt and many—including Exeter—are expanding to increase their fee income.

Less prestigious¹³ institutions,too,are fighting harder to keep their students.

Low repayment rates threaten to undo¹⁴ this.

The next government will have either to find more money for higher education or to cut spending,says Peter Scott,of the Institute of Education,a research university.

In December George Osborne,the chancellor of the exchequer,announced plans to remove a government cap that limits total student numbers.

That may now be difficult.

Posh universities fear the government will instead cut grants for science or research.

Less posh ones worry about being squeezed by loosely regulated private providers offering cheap courses.

One solution would be to force universities to take on some of the risk that loans will not be repaid.

Universities confident of their graduates' career prospects¹⁵ could then charge more or expand numbers without worrying.

Others would have to compete by holding fees down or reducing dropout¹⁶ rates.

It would not be an easy policy to sell.

But as Mr Clegg discovered,the right course often is not.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

8 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

11 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

12 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

14 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

15 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

16 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。