THREE-QUARTERS of universities in England have had to bail out students with emergency funding because of delays to loans and grants.
Tens of thousands of students are still waiting for their first maintenance payments as the Student Loans Company (SLC) struggles to cope with demand.
Of the 58 institutions that took part in a BBC survey, 49 reported making increased hardship payments to students compared with last year, with 43 blaming the rise on problems with the loans system.
On average, universities paid £44,000 to support hundreds of students needing cash for items such as rent, food and course materials.
The National Union of Students has called for the chief executive of the Student Loans Company to resign.
