As economy sags, more students saddled with debt

The lack of jobs has led to an explosion in the number students taking out loans

Since 2003, the number of people with a student loan debt of over 250,000 kroner has skyrocketed from 1,217 to 5,889 in 2011, and that’s not even counting the students that have yet to finish their studies, according to the Finance Ministry.

The financial crisis has led to a dwindling number of student jobs and many are forced to take SU Loans – a supplement to the SU stipend – in order to make ends meet. This is especially problematic for students who accumulate considerable debt and don’t finish their studies, said Per Christian Andersen, the head of the committee that advises the Education Ministry about the SU programme.

“They are really in trouble and a number of them are forced to take out further loans to on top of that. We have repeatedly discussed how to help this group of young people,” Andersen told Politiken newspaper. “We don’t believe that financial planning should be the responsibility of education institutions, but now we will take the matter up with the minister.”

But the dilemma extends to all the students who accrue debt, even those do graduate, because SU debt can have serious and long-lasting consequences.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of debt you have to pay off. The more you owe, the less you’re able to borrow in the future to do things like but a place to live,” Ann Lehmann Erichsen, an economist with Nordea, told Politiken.

And the high unemployment numbers aren’t helping either. A report from Djøf, a union representing lawyers and economists, indicated that students are purposely prolonging their studies because of the current high unemployment figures. Four out of ten students are considering whether to extend their studies in an effort to avoid graduating and facing a stagnant job market. 

See related story: Students take too long to finish university

“We see a trend towards some students considering whether to postpone completing their studies because of the high unemployment rates,” Andersen told Information newspaper.

But the education minister, Morten Østergaard (Radikale), wasn’t bothered by the rising number of students facing considerable SU debts.

“I think that it would only be worrying if students prematurely ended their studies having accrued a large debt, and that is not happening at an alarming rate,” Østergaard told Politiken.

TOP STORIES

  • Chinese wind turbine companies sign pact to end race-to-the-bottom price war

    Chinese wind turbine companies sign pact to end race-to-the-bottom price war

    China’s 12 leading wind turbine makers have signed a pact to end a domestic price war that has seen turbines sold at below cost price in a race to corner the market and which has compromised quality and earnings in the sector.

  • Watch Novo Nordisk’s billion-kroner musical TV ad for Wegovy

    Watch Novo Nordisk’s billion-kroner musical TV ad for Wegovy

    Novo Nordisk’s TV commercial for the slimming drug Wegovy has been shown roughly 32,000 times and reached 8.8 billion US viewers since June.

  • Retention is the new attraction

    Retention is the new attraction

    Many people every year choose to move to Denmark and Denmark in turn spends a lot of money to attract and retain this international talent. Are they staying though? If they leave, do they go home or elsewhere? Looking at raw figures, we can see that Denmark is gradually becoming more international but not everyone is staying. 

  • Defence Minister: Great international interest in Danish military technology

    Defence Minister: Great international interest in Danish military technology

    Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen attended the Association of the Unites States Army’s annual expo in Washington DC from 14 to 16 October, together with some 20 Danish leading defence companies, where he says Danish drone technology attracted significant attention.

  • Doctors request opioids in smaller packs as over-prescription wakes abuse concerns

    Doctors request opioids in smaller packs as over-prescription wakes abuse concerns

    Doctors, pharmacies and politicians have voiced concern that the pharmaceutical industry’s inability to supply opioid prescriptions in smaller packets, and the resulting over-prescription of addictive morphine pills, could spur levels of opioid abuse in Denmark.

  • Housing in Copenhagen – it runs in the family

    Housing in Copenhagen – it runs in the family

    Residents of cooperative housing associations in Copenhagen and in Frederiksberg distribute vacant housing to their own family members to a large extent. More than one in six residents have either parents, siblings, adult children or other close family living in the same cooperative housing association.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs