NI Med Students' Disappointed At Proposed Tuition Fees



Medical students have expressed their disappointment and concern at the proposed increase in university tuition fees.



Final year student Neil Cunningham, Chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) medical student committee in Northern Ireland said: “The proposed rise in tuition fees comes as a bitter blow to the next generation of doctors.



“Attending university should not be based on an individual’s ability to pay. BMA has real concerns that future doctors will be put off from studying medicine due to the high levels of debt that they will acquire over the five year course.”



The Larne student continued: “BMA has looked into the issue of student debt in great detail and our figures show that an increase in tuition fees to £9,000 will lead to a student debt starting at £70,000. The proposed rise to almost £6,000 will therefore see debt rise to £46,000. 



“More worrying, this debt does not take into account overdrafts, credit cards and professional loans which many students depend on for additional support. Total debt will therefore be much higher.

”

Dr Paul Darragh, Chairman of the BMA’s Council in Northern Ireland added: “The starting salary of a junior doctor is just over £22,500, bringing young doctors starting out their careers above the proposed repayment threshold. Having to put a significant proportion of this income toward massive loan repayments will only exacerbate the worry that debt brings.



“There has to be a better way of meeting the shortfall in higher education funding than penalising our future workforce”.


(BMcN/KMcA)