Trigger warning - Deaths/suicides at uni

[GreenLunchBox]

After being shocked/saddened by some close to home uni deaths this year I did a search and it seems it's not rare. Five at Cambridge
just by July this year, for example www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/11/university-of-cambridge-launches-inquiry-after-five-suspected-suicides

Someone did a recent series of freedom of information requests and most unis have a few deaths each year, with suicide being a common cause

Does anyone know if the rate is higher than in the general population in this age group? If so, is it a problem that's getting worse, and what can we do about it?

@Dinoteeth but if students go abroad now they don't pay anything back as revenue can't find them. And self employed would just declare on self assessment form - the dividend thing has always annoyed me. There would be loopholes but at least every graduate would end up paying the same % of earnings. Not like now where the poorer pay more than the richer (who probably didn't need a loan).
The debt is definitely a factor in some kids not going to Uni however we dress it up. And it does add to the stress of being at Uni, something my generation didn't have as we got grants and no fees. Knowing that you will have this round your neck for most of your life is pretty daunting.

Would it? Why? The scary debt is having to find money each month. Scary when the interest makes monthly payments bigger. Scary when you need to pay regardless that your income drops, That just doesn’t happen with student loans.

If you drop out after 2 years but still earn the same as a graduate then why would you not pay? Even less fair than subsiding someone who did graduate.
The rich can and will always pay for their kids education . They’re rich. 1% graduate tax would mean nothing to them whilst proportionately unfair on the poor. If tuition fees are down to the student, not parent that means any student gets them.

Err student loan interest does make the loan bigger every month

Your argument about someone who dropped out earning the same as a graduate is pretty pointless

The student loan is not like a normal debt as you pay 9% of earnings over the threshold so the effective interest rate in many cases is very very very low and is zero in terms of payments if you never earn over the threshold.

I saw a similar suicide argument in articles about people caught by IR35 (ie being made to pay their tax) - people talking about suicides. However when you drill down they were FEWER than in the general population, not more so suggesting because a few people kill themselves - students or IT contractors and then we find it is a lower percentage than in the general population is just an abuse of suicide statistics.

This is the repayment of a typical doctor. So they start with £88,000 debt and after paying that 9% off every year, they end up with a £120,000 debt after 10 years. It's utterly ridiculous. And v v wrong.

Forgot picture.

Of course you are correct.

You and I are just shouting into the wind here. Nobody cares and students have their head in the sand about this issue due to people like the posters on this thread claiming it's a perfectly reasonable graduate tax. I believe it will be the next PPI scandal. The interest is extortionate.

We now have the highest tuition fees and student loan debt in the world. World beating.

This has completely gone off-topic now

@GreenLunchBox it has a bit 😊. It is a total scandal and there is no way anyone is going to repay their loans if they work for the NHS.

And the scandal is the other way round too - that we tax payers subsidise sometimes pointless degrees where people sit around not doing much for 3 years drinking (one man didn't even go and used the money from his loan to fund his travel expenses to go to fight for ISIS) and then never pay a penny back as they work the system such as working for a family business or work for cash in hand or marry and have babies and never work again - never pay a single bit back and we tax payers plenty of whom never got to go to universeity (only 15% of people went when I did) end up paying for all this.

Thats a hideous amount for Doctors to end up owing. 😮

Surely we should have some sort of scheme for all NHS, Teaching & Public Sector professionals that if they enter NHS or State school their student debts are frozen then written-off / cancelled after say 20 or 25 years?

And probably any other public sector that is low on trained staff.

We all need Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, MWs, Radiographers, Physios, Teachers, Social Workers etc etc

There is definitely an issue of too many students going to Uni and coming out with degrees that are verging on pointless, with little or no demand for those skill sets. A waste of effort and the kids money.

Depends I knew two students who were off abroad, one is marrying another med student so now it's three who are off abroad. It's not compulsory to stay in the UK no matter what course degree you take

1% graduate tax for working life. Tax payer doesn't then fund anything. And everyone pays the same regardless of how rich mummy and daddy are.
And yes, moving abroad is becoming a v v common solution amongst medical staff. But surely we want to stop this ?

I think the only way to stop people moving abroad is to make sure the pay and conditions are comparable to those abroad.
And that means proper funding the NHS not just a graduate tax.

Well yes, proper funding and pay would help. As would not being treated so badly, with little or no choice where you work, ridiculous shift patterns and lack of staff so work ridiculous unpaid overtime. But not making them £100,000+ in debt round be a good start - if you work for the NHS for 10 years debt is wiped out would seem fair. Because the alternative is to leave the country.