A new Freedom of Information request has led experts to question the situation07:58, 22 Aug 2026The UK's first student loan generation in 2000 still owe on average over £8,000 each, a new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has found.‌It has led experts to ask "is university worth it?" and call it a "broken system" and “government disingenuity at scale”. More than £825 million is still owed by the first three cohorts of the student loan generation from 2000 to 2002 almost 30 years after the loans were taken out, according to new analysis by EdTech company Turing College.‌Data obtained from the Student Loans Company (SLC), through an FOI, revealed that 88,057 borrowers who took out the very first income-contingent student loans (now called a Plan 1 loan) in the 1998/99 academic year still have outstanding balances. More than 25 years since they completed their degrees and higher education courses, and were liable to start repaying their loans, only 20,242 of these borrowers, just over 23%, are currently making repayments. The remaining 67,815 are not currently repaying their loans.‌According to SLC data, the first graduates, on three-year degree courses, to take out income-contingent loans still collectively owe more than £580 million, suggesting that for many, the expectation that a degree would lead to higher earnings and rapid repayment has not been realised. Across the three cohorts, the average outstanding balance is £9,374. This ranges from £8,285 for the 2000 cohort to £9,634 for the 2002 cohort, which alone accounted for £584.4 million (70.8% of the total amount still owed).Lukas Kaminskis, CEO of EdTech platform Turing College, asked if university was worth the cost.‌He added: “Nearly 30 years is an extraordinary length of time to still be carrying student debt. For tens of thousands of people, it has followed them through most of their working lives.“People invest in education because they expect it to improve their prospects. Colleges and universities should be judged on whether they help people build secure, well-paid careers, not simply on how many students they enrol.“This also raises a legitimate question for prospective students about whether a degree is always worth the cost. For many careers, university remains an excellent investment, but it should not be treated as the only credible route to success. Students need clearer information about likely employment outcomes, earnings and the alternatives available before taking on decades of debt.‌“The next generation will have more routes available to them than ever before. Apprenticeships, vocational training and employer-led programmes can allow people to gain recognised qualifications and valuable experience while earning, rather than taking on significant debt before they have even started their careers. Young people should be encouraged to look carefully at all of the options available and choose the route that gives them the strongest long-term prospects."Astrid Davies, CEO at ADCL, said the current system saddled young people with debt.She added: "The current system to enable student places at higher education institutions is broken. It is an extraordinary example of modern-day usury, where the compounding interest is a shackle on graduates' future success. The current loan system is counterintuitive. It is woefully underperforming and morally wrong.‌"As a student in the 1980s, I campaigned against loans for precisely the reasons that have become the reality. Both my children are saddled with debt they will probably die still owing. That is a nonsense and nearly dissuaded them from taking the step to pursue their educational and career dreams."It is a nonsense to widen access to higher education but then tax it with interest to a level that actively dissuades. This was, and remains, Govt disingenuity at scale. Dissuading young people away from higher education pushes them toward apprenticeships, but the companies offering those are often ill-equipped to support them. Loans need a total rethink. I won't hold my breath."Michelle Lawson, director of Fareham-based Lawson Financial, said many were choosing to keep their pay low so they didn't need to repay the debt.‌She added: "Student debt is the only debt that increases with repayments rather than decreases. This indicates the system is broken."So many leave university and don't put their degree into practice but also some knowingly keep their pay under the threshold for repayments. It needs an overhaul and students shouldn't be saddled with debt that can't be repaid – it is de-moralising all round."Scott Gallacher, director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said the system was breaking.‌He added: "Facing what can feel like a virtual lifetime of student debt, it's hardly surprising that more teenagers and their parents are questioning whether university still pays. As an employer, we often see numerous applications from highly qualified graduates, and even those with master's degrees, for entry or junior positions."Yet for many roles, employers, keen to get the work done, would probably rather see someone with three years' relevant work experience than someone with three years in a lecture theatre. That doesn't mean university isn't worthwhile. For some careers it's essential and for others it can still be hugely valuable."But we seemingly created many more graduates without much thought of creating appropriate jobs for them. And, with loans rather than grants, we've reached the point where going to university should be a financial decision as well as an academic one. The system might not be broken, but it definitely appears to be breaking."‌Paul Denley, CEO of London-based Oakham Wealth Management, said student debt was actually more like a "graduate tax".He added: "The headlines from the analysis sound alarming, but it risks glossing over how the loans work. Plan 1 is income-contingent: you repay 9% of income above a threshold and anything left is eventually written off. An outstanding balance decades on doesn't necessarily mean someone is 'saddled with debt' – repayments depend on earnings, not the size of the balance.Article continues below"In practice, it behaves less like a mortgage and more like a graduate tax. Does it prove university isn't worth it? No. It shows that the financial return varies enormously by course and career, not by the word 'degree'."A good apprenticeship can now genuinely beat a weak degree financially, while avoiding student debt and providing earnings and experience from day one. The real lesson isn't to avoid university – it's to realise that not every degree is equally valuable."