22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loans

22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loansJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBranwen JeffreysEducation EditorGetty ImagesMore than 20,000 students have been told they were given maintenance loans and grants in error and now face demands to immediately pay the money back.The students, who are all studying weekend courses, received letters from the Student Loans Company (SLC) or their university saying their courses had never been eligible for maintenance loans or childcare grants.One letter, from the SLC and seen by the BBC, says the student's university provided incorrect information and "unfortunately, they didn't tell us you only attended on the weekend".It states that any "over-payment" will have to be repaid.The BBC understands courses at 15 universities and colleges including London Met, Bath Spa, Leeds Trinity, Southampton Solent and Oxford Brookes are affected.The courses each had in-person teaching at weekends, and some also had online learning during the week.Students had signed up for these courses and taken out loans for maintenance and, in some cases, grants for childcare.In a joint statement issued via Universities UK, the institutions involved told the BBC the issue stemmed from an "abrupt" decision by the government and that they were considering a legal challenge. However, the Department for Education said students had been let down by "incompetence or abuse of the system".'Devastated and worried'Maintenance loans are paid to students in instalments to cover living costs, such as accommodation and food. Loans are means-tested, based on household income. And whereas student tuition loans, to cover course costs, are paid directly to universities, maintenance loans are paid directly to the student.Students start repayments on both after they finish their degree and earn above a threshold.Some of the affected students also received childcare grants, which for...