Levels of student debt in Scotland have increase by eight per cent, it has been claimed.
According to data released by the Student Loans Company (SLC), over the course of 2007-8, student debt levels increased to a total of £212.8 million.
Moreover, the average debt balance for existing students and graduates is currently £5,550.
James Alexander, president of the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland, said in a report by the BBC: "NUS Scotland remains concerned about the increased reliance on borrowing as a way to fund students' education and we will continue to lobby the government for a fairer funding system which allows anyone to access education."
The SLC's findings follow a pledge by the Scottish National Party to end student debt.
At the end of the last financial year, the number of borrowers had reached a level of 370,000.
The SLC was established in 1990.
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