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17 March 2011
Last updated at 02:00 ET
Some graduates could end up paying back double their original student loans under the new fees system in England, figures calculated for the BBC suggest.
The figures, by leading accountants, show that a student borrowing £39,000 for a three-year course could pay back up to £83,000 in total, in cash terms.
Under the regime, due to begin in 2012, graduates will pay back 9% of their earnings for up to 30 years.
The government says the system is fair and progressive.
From 2012, universities will be able to charge up to £9,000 per year, which will paid up front by the government but paid off once the student starts earning £21,000 or more.
Students will also be able to take out maintenance loans ranging from £3,575 to £5,288, depending on their family's income.
Interest on the loan is expected to range from inflation only, to inflation plus 3%, with higher earners paying higher interest.
After 30 years, any unpaid debt is paid off.
The accountancy firms, which include Baker Tilly, modelled the payments for BBC Breakfast over the lifetimes of three fictional students.
The calculations assumed all the students borrow a total of £39,000 - £9,000 in fees and £4,000 for maintenance over a three year course - and go on to earn above the national average.
'Hire purchase' The speed at which the loans will be paid off depends on the earnings of the graduate.
The first student begins on average earnings, and gets a £1,000 pay increase each year.
After 30 years, the student has paid back £78,882 in cash terms, and still owes £14,513, which is written off.
The second student gets a £2,000 per year pay rise over and above average pay, and clears the debt completely in 25 years, paying a total of £83,791 in cash terms.
The third student gets paid £4,000 above average earnings, paying off the debt in 18 years - a total of £71,873 in cash terms.
The figures do not account for the way the value of money will change because of inflation over the period during which the loan is paid off.
John Whiting of the Chartered Institute of Taxation said the system was a bit like a student "buying their education on hire purchase, a bit like a mortgage".
"If somebody takes a significant loan it's going to take them a long time to pay it back, and they are going to be paying twice even three times the amount if it takes them a long time to pay it back," he said.
Better off But Professor Nick Barr of the London School of Economics said the system was fair and proportional to the person's earnings.
"It's a payroll deduction. It's week by week, it's month by month, it's exactly tailored to each individual's earnings and therefore it's not something that harms people. It's what gives them an opportunity to go to university," he said.
The government says its system is fairer and more progressive than the current system.
It says around a quarter of graduates, those with the lowest lifetime earnings, will pay less than under the current system.
Students from the poorest homes will be eligible for grants which they do not have to pay back, and the government has also promised a £150m national scholarship fund.
The fees plans only apply in England.
In Northern Ireland, a report commissioned by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) has recommended that fees should rise to a maximum of £5,750.
In Wales, students are protected from increases in tuition fees, with the Welsh Assembly Government subsidising the cost of higher fees.
In Scotland, students do not pay tuition fees.
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The figures, by leading accountants, show that a student borrowing £39,000 for a three-year course could pay back up to £83,000 in total, in cash terms.
Under the regime, due to begin in 2012, graduates will pay back 9% of their earnings for up to 30 years.
The government says the system is fair and progressive.
From 2012, universities will be able to charge up to £9,000 per year, which will paid up front by the government but paid off once the student starts earning £21,000 or more.
Students will also be able to take out maintenance loans ranging from £3,575 to £5,288, depending on their family's income.
Interest on the loan is expected to range from inflation only, to inflation plus 3%, with higher earners paying higher interest.
After 30 years, any unpaid debt is paid off.
The accountancy firms, which include Baker Tilly, modelled the payments for BBC Breakfast over the lifetimes of three fictional students.
The calculations assumed all the students borrow a total of £39,000 - £9,000 in fees and £4,000 for maintenance over a three year course - and go on to earn above the national average.
'Hire purchase' The speed at which the loans will be paid off depends on the earnings of the graduate.
The first student begins on average earnings, and gets a £1,000 pay increase each year.
After 30 years, the student has paid back £78,882 in cash terms, and still owes £14,513, which is written off.
The second student gets a £2,000 per year pay rise over and above average pay, and clears the debt completely in 25 years, paying a total of £83,791 in cash terms.
The third student gets paid £4,000 above average earnings, paying off the debt in 18 years - a total of £71,873 in cash terms.
The figures do not account for the way the value of money will change because of inflation over the period during which the loan is paid off.
John Whiting of the Chartered Institute of Taxation said the system was a bit like a student "buying their education on hire purchase, a bit like a mortgage".
"If somebody takes a significant loan it's going to take them a long time to pay it back, and they are going to be paying twice even three times the amount if it takes them a long time to pay it back," he said.
Better off But Professor Nick Barr of the London School of Economics said the system was fair and proportional to the person's earnings.
"It's a payroll deduction. It's week by week, it's month by month, it's exactly tailored to each individual's earnings and therefore it's not something that harms people. It's what gives them an opportunity to go to university," he said.
The government says its system is fairer and more progressive than the current system.
It says around a quarter of graduates, those with the lowest lifetime earnings, will pay less than under the current system.
Students from the poorest homes will be eligible for grants which they do not have to pay back, and the government has also promised a £150m national scholarship fund.
The fees plans only apply in England.
In Northern Ireland, a report commissioned by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) has recommended that fees should rise to a maximum of £5,750.
In Wales, students are protected from increases in tuition fees, with the Welsh Assembly Government subsidising the cost of higher fees.
In Scotland, students do not pay tuition fees.
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