Romanians are allegedly claiming a record number of student loans in what is a suspected widespread fraud.
They reportedly claim more than four times as many £13,000 loans as any other nationality and come in second to the 1.1million Brits who have taken on student debt to go to university.
The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson reportedly acknowledged the figures were ‘disproportionate’, having previously vowed that there would be a crack down on the franchised colleges where most of these cases are said to be enrolled.
There are said to be 78,325 Romanians claiming loans in 2023/24, a figure which has tripled in five years from 25,046 in 2019/20.
Romanians are entitled to loans in the UK if they have lived in the country for a minimum of three years or if they have EU settled status.
But The Telegraph reports that there is evidence of multi-million pound fraud in relation to certain courses at colleges which are ‘over-represented’ by Romanians and could be linked to organised crime.
The National Audit Office (NAO) had previously highlighted that there was suspected fraud at franchised colleges, where lower grades are typically required to enter and is usually privately run but will offer courses for established universities.
The spending watchdog wrote in their 2024 report: ‘Over the past five years trend data show that, at franchised providers, detected fraud cases have increased faster than the proportion of SLC-funded students.’
Romanians are allegedly claiming a record number of student loans in what is a suspected widespread fraud
Students are believed to be signing up to these classes but will drop out once they have received their loan with no intention to pay it back.
More than two thirds of students at franchised colleges are from nationalities where English is not their first language, per the Office for Students. Romanians are said to be ‘highly represented’ in this sector.
The Department for Education said the number of students at these franchised colleges have more than doubled in the last five years.
In 2021/2022, nearly 110,000 students attended these colleges altogether, according to the NAO’s report.
About a quarter of these students will not finish their course, per the Office for Students, a stark increase on the one in ten students at conventional universities who will not finish.
Ms Phillipson has previously vowed to reclassify franchised colleges with more than 300 students enrolled under the same regulation as conventional universities in efforts to fight any opportunities for fraud.
If they do not comply, the college will not be entitled to student loans in 2028/2029.
She said in December: ‘Too many rogue operators have treated students as a route to fast cash, not as people investing in their future.
‘Those days are over. If you use public money, you will be held accountable and face proper scrutiny.
‘Our higher education sector is one of Britain’s greatest strengths. Through our Plan for Change we are determined to protect its reputation, putting students first and making sure every pound from the public purse is well spent.’
The DfE said they will ‘stop at nothing to protect public money’ but clarified that loans were given ‘based on residency and immigration status, not nationality alone’.
The DfE said: ‘Our universities are renowned across the world, which is why we are doing everything within our power to protect that global reputation and the value of every degree.
‘Eligibility for student support is based on residency and immigration status, not nationality alone, targeting resources on students who are likely to contribute to the economy.
‘We will stop at nothing to protect public money where unusual patterns indicate abuse, or show franchised providers misusing student funding. Any misuse of student loans is an insult to hard-working students striving for better opportunities.
‘Our Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out ambitious reforms to strengthen the Office for Students’ powers to crack down on fraud in higher education.
‘This includes making franchising providers with 300 or more students register with the Office for Students and face being cut off from accessing student loan funding if they fall short of the expected standards.’
The Office for Students has been contacted for comment but told The Telegraph: ‘We have been raising concerns around the practices of some third party recruitment agents recruiting students who are not originally from England, or are otherwise unfamiliar with how the English higher education system works, onto subcontractual courses in England.
‘These concerns include using financial incentives to attract students onto courses that are not right for them, or asking students to pay recruitment agents for services they could undertake themselves, like applying to a university or college, or additional registration fees.
‘In some cases, potential students may be given inaccurate information about courses or student loans in attempts to sign them up.’
Rupert Lowe, an independent MP who was suspended from Reform, extracted this data from the DfE and has insisted on an investigation into the scale of the alleged fraud.
The Restore Britain founder said: ‘It is abundantly clear that there is widespread fraud occurring, yet nobody seems to care.
‘That is not a surprise. I am calling on the Government to instigate a comprehensive review into where this money has gone, and more importantly – how we can get it back.
‘Restore Britain’s policy position on this is abundantly clear – student loans must not be available to foreigners.’
The National Audit Office has previously recovered loans used in fraud cases, with £6.1million recovered in tuition funding in regards to 1,389 student cases.
The Student Loans Company reportedly said: ‘SLC carry out investigations where individual student fraud is suspected and have locus to sanction students in line with the published Economic Crime Unit statement of intent.
‘Where SLC identifies potentially fraudulent activity beyond this remit, cases are referred to the DfE and OfS for consideration.
‘As noted in the NAO report – ‘Investigation into student finance for study at franchised higher education providers’ – SLC and OfS detected several instances of potential and actual fraud, or abuse of the student loan system relating to franchise provision’
‘In this instance, SLC alerted DfE and strong action was taken.’
Efforts have been made to contact the Romanian embassy for comment.