The inquiry comes after the BBC found that the government compared student loan repayments to a £30-a-month phone contract in a presentation to teenagers a decade ago, and presenters were asked not to use the word “debt”.
On Wednesday, Sir Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat leader, told the BBC the current university tuition fee system was a “mess”.
BBC analysis has found that the amount of money graduates are voluntarily paying to try to clear their debt has risen, while some graduates told us the combination of loan repayments and income tax has led them to slash their salaries.
The DfE said it had inherited a student loans system “devised by the previous government” and the freezes were there to “protect taxpayers and students”.
It said the system “protects lower-earning graduates” with income-linked repayments and balances that are written off after a certain period of time.
On Wednesday, Reeves told MPs there was a “hierarchy of priorities”.
“I do recognise that we inherited a broken system when it comes to student finance, as we inherited a broken NHS, a prison system and much more,” she said.
The National Union of Students said it was “ready to take this opportunity to work together to fix student loans”.
The committee is inviting anyone over the age of 16 to share their experiences of the system via an online survey. It will look at the system in England but will welcome submissions from other parts of the UK.