Debt threat for nurses and teachers

Middle-class professionals could face a lifetime of debt struggles if the coalition decides to introduce a graduate tax.

New research from the University and College Union (UCU) found that with a 5 per cent levy, nurses would face a bill of £36,000 over their career, secondary school teachers would need to pay £46,000 and doctors would lose out on £70,000.

By comparison, under the current tuition fee system, they would only accrue around £10,000 of student debt.

Universities minister David Willetts defended the move on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, stating that "graduates on average earn at least £100,000 more during their lives than non-graduates".

However, with inflation levels above target, the graduate tax could be the straw that breaks that camel's back and drive many to seek debt solutions.

Kevin Still, director of Atlantic Financial Management, says: "This would seem a major dis-incentive for UK home-grown talent to enter certain professions, especially if they are in themselves not especially well paid professions and prone to debt problems post-graduation.

"Nursing has a high proportion of females and this doesn't seem to take account of the probable life stage events that may require career breaks. A long-term debt mountain seems inevitable as only the minority become head teachers or consultants."

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