Migrants have been accused of “taking advantage of gullible civil servants” after it was revealed that one in five student loans is being handed to foreign nationals.
Speaking to GB News, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education Chris McGovern warned British taxpayers were being exploited by those who “clear off and never pay”.
His comments come as it emerged that foreign students were pocketing around £4billion in tuition and maintenance loans over the past year, accounting for about 20 per cent of all lending through the scheme.
EU citizens received the bulk of this money, with Romanians alone taking one in 20 first-time loans.
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Foreign borrowers are around 25 per cent less likely to pay back their loans compared with British students, according to the research from Conservative MP Neil O’Brien.
Student loans are generally unavailable to foreign nationals studying in Britain, but an exemption exists for EU citizens who hold settled status under the post-Brexit deal.
“When historians write the story of the ruination of Britain in the last 25, 30 years, I think student loans are going to have a chapter all of their own,” Mr McGovern began.
“The Government’s own figures say that by the 2030s, loans are going to go to £500 billion, then they’re going to a trillion, and most of this has been unpaid, or at least half is being unpaid.”
As such, the campaign chief argued foreign nationals were exploiting a system that was already out of control.
“You can hardly blame Bulgarians or Romanians or Europeans for taking advantage of our gullible, naive civil servants,” he said.
“We need someone in charge to get a grip on this,” he said, branding the funding of overseas students “an outrage”.
“We’re boosting the economy of Eastern Europe. We’re funding young people who are actually not British citizens. We’re not looking after our own students.”
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“We can’t help the entire world,” the former head teacher insisted.
“We need to help our own poor kids, whether they’re in Mansfield or they’re in Gateshead or they’re Brummies. We need to help our own first.”
Mr McGovern claimed that this was a distant prospect as universities had become dependent on overseas students to remain financially viable.
“They’re cashing in on the generosity of the taxpayer and the stupidity of governments,” he said.
“One day someone will wake up and say, ‘How on earth did we ever get into this situation where we’ve ruined our own country’.”
A Department for Education spokesman told GB News: “We have strict eligibility requirements for student loans and nobody who lives outside of the UK can apply for or receive a loan.
“Anyone leaving the UK must continue to repay what they owe.”
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