Student loan affairs

- Maintenance Support and Income Threshold - 

The stipend from The Student Loan Fund needs to increase. Röskva believes that it should not be permissible to increase the stipend by less than what amounts to inflation each year. Additionally Röskva believes that wage development and stipends in other social systems should be considered when deciding the stipend amount.

In the Loan Funds’s last allocation rules the maximum allowable income of students increased from 1.330.000ISK to 1.364.000ISK, after the active fight of students. Röskva demands that the maximum allowable income is constantly reevaluated and that it at least always follows the advancement of the wage index in Iceland. If students are expected to work with their studies to support themselves, as is the case now, it is a natural requirement that the reduction in student loans due to income in excess of the holiday income limit be low.

Röskva is firmly against all increases in student loan interests and demands that the cap be lowered for interest as this change will be the cause of increased uncertainty for loan takers and worse credit terms.

The new bill includes a change in the arrangement of income related payments as only those who finish studying before the age of 36 have the right to those. Röskva is against this and believes that the repayment of student loans is income related so that the fund can fulfill their role as a social compensatory aid.

There needs to be flexibility when it comes to people getting their legs under them after completing their education. There also needs to be flexibility to take a break from studying, e.g. to decide on postgraduate studies. This is why Röskva is against the decrease of the time that is given from the end of studies until the repayment of student loans start. According to laws regarding The Student Loan Fund the deadline is 1 year, but Röskva demands that it be extended to 2 years.

Röskva protests the fact that credits applicable for loans will be fixed at 480 ECTS. It is unforeseen how the economy and education will change in the future, and it is therefore important that there is flexibility. Röskva wants the laws on the student loan system to buy a minimum for the amount of credits applicable for loans but no maximum. There is a need to increase the scope so that students can dispose of credit-eligible credits according to their study process.

Röskva celebrates the fact that the bill suggests that the supplementary loan due regarding child support will turn into a direct subsidy for the parents. With these changes parents would not have to go into more debt than others without children in order to get education. It is necessary to support the large group of parents at university in this way. Röskva would also like all parents to get a subsidy for child support, regardless of whether they’re taking a loan or not.

The application deadline according to the Menntasjóður's allocation rules is early in the year. As a result, students have difficulty making informed decisions about applying for a loan. Therefore, Röskva demands that the application deadline take into account the withdrawal deadline for courses.