Top-up fees 'will leave graduates £22,000 in debt'

The independent research claimed top-up fees of £3,000 a year are causing debt to soar - despite Labour promises of more grants and bursaries.

The scale of the millstone for young people emerged as separate figures highlighted the impact of earlier changes to the student finance system.

The scrapping of grants and imposition of a flat £1,000-a-year fee in 1997 are said to have led to a 167 per cent increase in debt.

Research by the uSwitch.com price comparison website said students collectively have amassed £27 billion in debts over the past decade - equivalent to half the gross domestic product of New Zealand.

Three million have delayed marriage, starting a family or buying a home by at least six years as a result of 'crippling' debt.

Today's graduates face having to pay off their debts for 11 years.

University leaders said last night that the figures were 'alarmist'.

They insisted: "The vast majority of students see university as a worthwhile investment in their future." The latest debt survey was carried out by Push.co.uk, an independent guide to universities.

It concluded that students who started their courses as top-up fees were launched in 2006 can expect to owe nearly £18,000 by graduation.

But this year's crop of freshers "should reckon on around £4,000 more than that" due to rises in living costs, pushing the total debt to more than £20,000.

Johnny Rich, editor of the Push.co.uk guides, said the figures suggested that financial support systems for students paying top-up fees were not working.

They no longer have to pay fees at the start of their courses and can wait until they are earning £15,000 to repay inflation-linked loans to cover the charges.

The poorest students should have their course costs met by Government maintenance

and bursaries from universities.

But, according to Push, average debt still increased from £3,713 per year for second-year students paying the old fees to £5,997 for first years who are charged topup fees.

Mr Rich, whose survey involved face-to-face interviews with nearly 2,000 students at more than 130 universities, said this rise showed the bursary schemes were having little impact.

"Some students face real financial hardship," he said.

"This is the first time we have had viable figures about what top-up fees have meant."

The debt for students in England contrasts with counterparts in Scotland, who enjoy the UK's most generous funding system.

In England, students typically owe £4,295 per year, against £2,344 a year north of the border.

Another survey from NatWest found top-up fees had driven up the cost of a degree to £34,740.

However, its research concluded students should be able to cover around half this through a combination of part-time work, grants and parental help.

The bank said students were becoming more financially 'savvy' and increasingly taking part-time jobs to cover their costs.