Are there alternatives to student loans?

• If family and friends are not able to offer financial help, eligibility for additional sources of support for students in need is often dependent on first taking your full entitlement of student loan. The Access to Learning Fund in England, administered by universities according to strict guidelines issued by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), is one such source. Despite a number of meetings with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), the DfES latest guidance concedes that whilst it is "aware that having to take out their full entitlement of student loan in order to be able to apply to the Fund may be a concern for some Muslim students…there are no plans to change the current policy."
• In 2004, FOSIS called on Charles Clarke, the then Education Secretary, to offer Shariah compliant student loans. They were told that the DfES would look into student loan alternatives, such as an endowment or tax, to eliminate interest. A DfES spokesman said, "The uptake of student loans amongst Muslim students is comparatively good but we will work closer with FOSIS". However change has not been forthcoming.
• Charitable trusts often require evidence that applicants have taken their full entitlement of statutory funding before applying for further support. If applying for help, it’s therefore advisable to contact the trust first to check whether they are able to consider an application based on you not taking the loan for faith reasons.
• A number of banks offer Shariah compliant facilities. The Islamic Bank of Britain was one of the first to do so in Britain and offers deposit bank accounts as well as a Halal Personal Finance Facility, a form of borrowing with repayments beginning immediately. HSBC offer Amanah, an interest-free bank account for making deposits and withdrawals.
• As a rule current accounts which offer an overdraft facility are not Shariah approved. However Lloyds TSB’s Islamic Student Account offers an interest-free overdraft of up to £1500 and is Shariah compliant, although exceeding the overdraft limit would incur interest. Most banks offer interest-free overdrafts on student accounts. However the account itself will not be Shariah compliant unless specifically stated.
• There is anecdotal evidence that some Muslim students may be working many hours over the 15 a week recommended by the NUS in order to survive without taking loans. In later clinical years, when working such long hours becomes impossible, the NHS bursary may help to take the pressure off.
• For students beginning their courses in 2006 there is the new Maintenance Grant of up to £2700 plus bursaries offered by individual universities and colleges. However most of these are assessed on family income so not everyone is eligible and, with the introduction of £3000 tuition fees, loans to cover the costs of education seem inevitable unless you are from a very high income background.

Basaam Aweid concludes pragmatically that "only the individual can judge whether they can manage working part-time instead of taking out a loan. We cannot make a general statement or rule because it only becomes a necessity through subjective judgement".

However, the ambition to become a healthcare practitioner is often linked to a strong desire to spend your life working to help others and perhaps this intention mitigates the necessity to take loans in order to achieve this goal. As Hina, a recently graduated medical radiographer from St Georges concedes hopefully;

With thanks to St Georges University of London Islamic Awareness Society:

For more information please see the associated links.