Graduates Face Years of Debt

12.00.00am GMT Wed 6th Jan 2010

As the new year begins and we all hope that 2010 will, indeed, prove more peaceful and prosperous than 2009, I find myself becoming increasingly concerned for students and graduates in Wales who can't keep up student loan repayments.

In his first New Year message, the First Minister was right in his assertion that education is "crucial" to Wales' success. However, I believe that too many graduates are facing debt, joblessness and/or exclusion from the property ladder.

Today's students are tomorrow's workforce and they have the potential to help build a thriving economy. We depend on their talents for our futures. If the First Minister and his government really do think schools, colleges and universities perform "valuable work" then it is time they match those words with the appropriate funding mechanisms for both the students and the providers. "