system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 how student loans repayments that will barely cover interest then get wiped after 30 years for a majority of people is a viable method of financing universities in the U.K.
gpt
University is essentially subsidised by the tax payer. Not everyone will pay back their loan, so the government is essentially taking the hit for them.

There used to be no tuition fees at all. There still isn't in Scotland for Scottish students. When that was the case people's university education was entirely paid for by the government. 

The tuition fees and loans we have now are essentially a way to get at least *some* of that money back. In most cases not all of it, so university education is still largely subsidised.