Latest news: BBC reveals the 20 biggest student debts

The biggest single student loans debt owed by one person is £66,150, the BBC has revealed. 28/03/2011

Worse still, the total sum of the 20 largest outstanding student debts totals over £1 million, as the debate over tuition fees continues in the wake of the introduction of the £9,000 maximum tuition fee.

A freedom of information request by the BBC revealed the 20 biggest amounts owed to the Student Loans Company, with all but one of the students attending London institutions and all on courses lasting more than five years, such as law and medicine.

Universities minister David Willetts called the figures ‘unusual’ but claimed that the students in questions were likely to have careers on substantial salaries in the future.

Students in England are allowed to borrow almost £5,000 per year in tuition fees and living costs, with those based in London allowed up to £7,000. However, the maximum tuition fee loan will go up to £9,000 in September 2012, with maintenance loans also increasing.

This means that funding problems and student debt could reach £83,000 for some courses when the new system is introduced.

Several universities, including Cambridge, Manchester, Imperial College and Exeter have already announced their intention to charge the maximum fee level.

These leading institutions are likely to be joined by less prestigious universities who fear that setting lower fees could lead them to gaining a reputation as offering a cut-price education.

Any unpaid debt will be written off by the government after 30 years under the new system.