End Interest on Student Loans
End Interest on Student Loans
The Issue
Petition to End Interest on Student Loans
Stop Profiting From Students
Student loan borrowers aren’t drowning in debt because they’re irresponsible — they’re drowning because interest keeps their balances growing even when they make regular payments. In the UK, interest continues to be added to student loan balances based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) +3.2% (more if it is a Postgraduate Loan), meaning total interest accrued is often far higher than repayments made each year. In the latest tax year, for example, more interest was added than was repaid for around 67% of graduates who made repayments, increasing their overall debt burden [1] Interest accrues from the first payment date i.e. when they start their course before they have any chance of making a repayment.
The value of the outstanding student loan book in England alone is now over £266 billion, and total individual debts can be very high — with more than 150,000 borrowers owing over £100,000 [2]
This isn’t about avoiding responsibility — it’s about fairness. Education should not be a lifelong financial punishment.
This System Is Broken
Interest on student loans:
- Keeps debt growing faster than borrowers can pay it off, trapping them in decades of repayments [1]
- Punishes low- and middle-income graduates the most, as a greater share of their income goes to servicing interest
- Delays major life milestones like buying a home, starting a family, or saving for retirement
- Holds back the wider economy by reducing spending power and economic mobility.
Our Demand Is Simple:
End interest on student loans.
Borrowers should repay what they borrowed — not endless interest. Eliminating interest would help people actually reduce their loan balances, boost the economy, and restore faith in education as a pathway to opportunity.
We Can Do Better
Education benefits society as a whole — teachers, nurses, engineers, researchers, caregivers, and countless others contribute to our communities and economy. We should not profit off their desire to contribute.
In other countries, approaches to college funding differ. In Germany, public universities generally charge no undergraduate tuition fees at all, meaning students don’t need large tuition loans in the first place [3]. In Sweden, higher education is free for Swedish and EU students[4].
In the UK, tuition fees are still charged up to around £9,535 a year in England and Wales, and loans are taken out to cover them — meaning many students graduate with significant debt that continues to accrue interest [5]. Meanwhile, in Scotland, eligible Scottish students do not pay tuition fees for undergraduate degrees, though other costs remain [6]
Let’s invest in the promise of our future doctors, teachers, engineers, and leaders by ensuring they enter adulthood free from crippling, ever-growing debt.
End student loan interest now. Please sign and share.
I don't need you to contribute, just please sign and share!
Sources;
1 https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/graduates-student-debt-interest-3s2tsvqlk?utm
3 https://timesconsultant.com/blog/countries-with-no-tuition-fees/?utm
4 https://timesconsultant.com/blog/countries-with-no-tuition-fees/?utm
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom?utm
848
The Issue
Petition to End Interest on Student Loans
Stop Profiting From Students
Student loan borrowers aren’t drowning in debt because they’re irresponsible — they’re drowning because interest keeps their balances growing even when they make regular payments. In the UK, interest continues to be added to student loan balances based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) +3.2% (more if it is a Postgraduate Loan), meaning total interest accrued is often far higher than repayments made each year. In the latest tax year, for example, more interest was added than was repaid for around 67% of graduates who made repayments, increasing their overall debt burden [1] Interest accrues from the first payment date i.e. when they start their course before they have any chance of making a repayment.
The value of the outstanding student loan book in England alone is now over £266 billion, and total individual debts can be very high — with more than 150,000 borrowers owing over £100,000 [2]
This isn’t about avoiding responsibility — it’s about fairness. Education should not be a lifelong financial punishment.
This System Is Broken
Interest on student loans:
- Keeps debt growing faster than borrowers can pay it off, trapping them in decades of repayments [1]
- Punishes low- and middle-income graduates the most, as a greater share of their income goes to servicing interest
- Delays major life milestones like buying a home, starting a family, or saving for retirement
- Holds back the wider economy by reducing spending power and economic mobility.
Our Demand Is Simple:
End interest on student loans.
Borrowers should repay what they borrowed — not endless interest. Eliminating interest would help people actually reduce their loan balances, boost the economy, and restore faith in education as a pathway to opportunity.
We Can Do Better
Education benefits society as a whole — teachers, nurses, engineers, researchers, caregivers, and countless others contribute to our communities and economy. We should not profit off their desire to contribute.
In other countries, approaches to college funding differ. In Germany, public universities generally charge no undergraduate tuition fees at all, meaning students don’t need large tuition loans in the first place [3]. In Sweden, higher education is free for Swedish and EU students[4].
In the UK, tuition fees are still charged up to around £9,535 a year in England and Wales, and loans are taken out to cover them — meaning many students graduate with significant debt that continues to accrue interest [5]. Meanwhile, in Scotland, eligible Scottish students do not pay tuition fees for undergraduate degrees, though other costs remain [6]
Let’s invest in the promise of our future doctors, teachers, engineers, and leaders by ensuring they enter adulthood free from crippling, ever-growing debt.
End student loan interest now. Please sign and share.
I don't need you to contribute, just please sign and share!
Sources;
1 https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/graduates-student-debt-interest-3s2tsvqlk?utm
3 https://timesconsultant.com/blog/countries-with-no-tuition-fees/?utm
4 https://timesconsultant.com/blog/countries-with-no-tuition-fees/?utm
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom?utm
848
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Petition created on 1 February 2026