The British Social Attitudes survey has tracked public opinion over key issues, including university education, for decades. <\/p>\n
Their research, published on Tuesday, found that 34% of people in 2025 agreed a university education “just isn’t worth the amount of time and money” – up from 14% in 2005. <\/p>\n
This is the highest level of concern about the value of a degree for 20 years. <\/p>\n
At the same time, there has been a decline in those who believe going to university leaves graduates “a lot better off” in the long run, down from 50% in 2005 to 36% in 2025. <\/p>\n
Against that background of wider public unease, the Treasury Select Committee of MPs will hear the concerns of graduates about the size of their debts, and the interest rates. <\/p>\n
Among those most worried are graduates who took out what are called Plan 2 loans between 2012 and 2023. <\/p>\n
Gemma, who now works for a tech company, is one of those graduates who contacted the BBC through Your Voice to share her frustration. <\/p>\n
Just after she graduated in 2016, her debt was \u00a334,105 – but her latest balance statement shows it’s now \u00a341,908 because the interest accumulating is outstripping her repayments. <\/p>\n
Gemma said her degree was worth it, taking her from a low-income background into a job where she now earns just under \u00a350,000 a year, but living with the loan is “draining”.<\/p>\n
“It feels like I’m constantly chasing a debt that gets bigger over time; it feels like climbing a mountain.” <\/p>\n
Now 33, she said student loans have contributed to a decision to delay starting a family with her partner, because even though she wouldn’t repay during maternity leave, the interest would still accrue. <\/p>\n
At the end of the 30 years any unpaid loan will be cleared, effectively by the taxpayer. <\/p>\n