'Deeply misleading' school talks compared student loans to £30 phone contracts

'Deeply misleading' school talks compared student loans to £30 phone contracts 10 minutes ago Share Save Hazel Shearing Education correspondent Share Save The government compared student loan repayments to a £30-a-month phone contract in a presentation to teenagers a decade ago, BBC News has discovered. The presentation was part of a series of "student finance tours" delivered to thousands of schools between 2011 and 2017, by graduates who were asked to speak to pupils and parents on the then-government's behalf. The graduates were told to "avoid words phrases like debt", with one former presenter now telling the BBC he felt like he had "sold his soul to the devil". The Department for Education said the presentations were delivered under previous governments, and that current ministers had focused on making the system fairer. The National Union of Students said the script for the presentation about Plan 2 loans - which have been heavily criticised this year over their high interest rates and changes to the repayment thresholds - had "aged poorly" and was "deeply misleading". According to a government contract with Event Marketing Solutions - a private company that hired graduates and delivered tours - the aim was to "convert" young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into "actual [higher education] applicants". The BBC understands that the presentation, script and notes would have been either provided or approved by the Department for Education. One script from 2016-17, seen by the BBC, stresses that applicants should do their research and tells them where to find further information. Where possible, graduates took questions after the presentation and the script refers to an accompanying leaflet, which the BBC has not seen. However, the BBC has spoken to former presenters and interviewed two who say they feel the implications of taking out a loan were downplayed. The revelations come as the government faces mounting pressure to change the repayment terms of Plan 2...