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Britain Student loans Fees fi fo fum
英国 学生贷款 学费？妈妈咪呀~
The new student loans system is proving more expensive than expected
新的学生贷款系统耗资比预期更多
POLITICAL apologies are rarely so awkward.
政治道歉很少有这么奇怪的。
In 2012 Nick Clegg,the Liberal Democrat leader,explained in a short film why he had broken a promise to vote against raising university tuition fees.
2012年，自民党领导人尼克·克莱格在一部短片中解释为什么他违背投票反对增加大学学费的承诺。
I shouldn't have committed to a policy that was so expensive when there's no money around, he said.
他说我不该在没钱的时候还执着于一项花费极大的政策。
Mr Clegg has now lost even that excuse.
现在，克莱格连这个借口都没有了。
It appears that the new student loans scheme could in fact cost the government more than the old one.
貌似新的学生贷款计划要比原来的花费政府更多的钱。
Yet that does not mean that Mr Clegg's U-turn was a mistake.
但这并不表示克莱格的态度大转弯是一个错误。
When the coalition government raised fees paid by students in England (Scotland and Wales have their own policies) from around 3,300 to 9,000 a year,
联合政府提出由英格兰学生(苏格兰和威尔士有自己的政策)支付的费用由每年约3300上调到9000,
the idea was to boost universities' incomes while cutting the amount of taxpayer cash spent on undergraduate teaching.
目的就是提高大学的收入,同时缩减纳税人花在本科教学上的钱。
State-backed student loans,repayable only when graduates begin earning,were extended to cover the cost of the higher fees.
国家提供的学生贷款在学生开始有收入时再进行偿还，而这些贷款足以囊括学生的所有花费。
This,it was thought,would stoke competition in higher education while also helping to reduce the deficit.
有人认为,这将引发高等教育竞争，同时也有助于减少赤字。
The system can save the government money only if students do indeed repay their loans.
只有学生确实偿还贷款，该系统才能节省政府的钱。
Under the rules,graduates repay 9% of any income they earn over 21,000.
根据规定,毕业生必须偿还收入超过21000那部分的9%给国家。
Meanwhile,debt accumulates interest at the rate of inflation plus up to 3%.
与此同时,这笔债务的贷款利息将以通胀率再加上最高3%的利率计算。
If they are not fully repaid,loans are written off after 30 years.
如果这些款项没有全额偿还，30年后则会一笔勾销。
(Student debts incurred before 2012 are forgiven after 25 years—but fees,interest rates and the repayment threshold are all lower,too.)
(2012年之前的学生债务25年之后则一笔勾销—但费用,利率和偿还起点也都较低)。
One consequence of increasing tuition fees is that a far smaller proportion of students will repay their debt in full under the new system than under the old one.
增加学费的结果之一是全额偿还贷款的学生人数要远远少于旧系统运行时全额偿还的学生人数。
And recently,as the salaries of new graduates have stagnated,the forecasts have become even less optimistic.
最近,由于应届毕业生的工资停滞不前,预测变得更不乐观。
According to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS),a think-tank,73% of graduates will not repay their loans in full.
根据财政研究学会(IFS)的智囊团分析,73%的毕业生不能全额偿还贷款。
The government now expects to recover just 55% of its costs,against an estimate of 72% in 2010.
政府预计只能弥补所有花费的55%，而非2010年时预期的72%。
Yet in other ways the loan system is working impressively.
然而在其他方面，贷款系统的成效还是不错的。
With the worrying exception of part-timers,few students have been deterred from applying to university.
因为有非全日制学生未被列入贷款对象的担忧，所以大多数学生都受到鼓励，申请了学校。
Last year the proportion of 18- and 19-year-olds entering was the highest ever.
去年18 - 19岁的学生进入大学的比例达到历史新高。
Between 2011 and 2013 the number of students who had been entitled to free school meals entering the most academically demanding universities jumped by 39%.
在2011年和2013年之间，有权免费在学校吃饭且进入学术性最强大学的学生人数上升了39%。
The IFS analysis also shows that the new system is remarkably progressive—those students who go on to earn the largest salaries pay back the most.
IFS分析还表明,新系统非常先进——工资最高的学生偿还的贷款也最多。
Better,universities do appear to be getting more competitive as a result.
更加可喜的是大学似乎变得更有竞争力。
Sir Steve Smith,vice-chancellor of Exeter University,says that since fees were increased,students have become savvier
埃克塞特大学的副校长史蒂夫史密斯爵士说,由于费用增加,学生变得更加精明了
insisting that academics actually mark their essays within a few weeks,for instance.
比如说专家们在几周内就可以批改完所有文章。
Applications to the best-ranked universities have leapt and many—including Exeter—are expanding to increase their fee income.
申请排名最高大学的人数大幅增加—包括艾克赛特—学费收入也相应上升。
Less prestigious institutions,too,are fighting harder to keep their students.
不那么有名的学校也正在竭尽全力留住学生。
Low repayment rates threaten to undo this.
低还款率迫使情况发生改变。
The next government will have either to find more money for higher education or to cut spending,says Peter Scott,of the Institute of Education,a research university.
一所研究型大学教育学院的彼得·斯科特说，下届政府将为高等教育争取跟多资金或削减教育开支。
In December George Osborne,the chancellor of the exchequer,announced plans to remove a government cap that limits total student numbers.
去年12月，英国财政大臣乔治?奥斯本宣布废除政府限制总学生人数的规定。
That may now be difficult.
现在这项规定可能非常难以实行。
Posh universities fear the government will instead cut grants for science or research.
富裕的大学担心政府将削减科学或研究资助；
Less posh ones worry about being squeezed by loosely regulated private providers offering cheap courses.
不那么富裕的大学担心被管理松散的私人培训机构挤兑，因为他们可以提供价格低廉的课程。
One solution would be to force universities to take on some of the risk that loans will not be repaid.
一个解决办法是迫使大学承担一些贷款无法收回的风险。
Universities confident of their graduates' career prospects could then charge more or expand numbers without worrying.
大学相信他们毕业生的职业前景可观，因此他们可以毫无顾虑的收取更高的费用或扩大招生人数。
Others would have to compete by holding fees down or reducing dropout rates.
另外那些对自己学生前途没什么信心的学校则必须通过压价或者降低辍学率的方式与他们竞争。
It would not be an easy policy to sell.
推行新的高校助学贷款政策并非易事，
But as Mr Clegg discovered,the right course often is not.
但是，或许正如克莱格了解到得那样，正确地道路往往荆棘满途。译者：张丹 校对：邵灵玲
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