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Student debt has risen 167 per cent to ?3.2 billion over the past decade, according to a survey of more than 1,000 students by uSwitch.com, a price comparison service. The average amount owed by students on graduation increased from ?5,096 to ?11,123 and would take, on average, 11 years to clear, uSwitch said. In 2007, 49,300 students (17 per cent) would graduate with an average debt of ?11,000.

A separate study of 2,000 students by university guide Push.co.uk found undergraduates who started courses in 2006 would owe more than ?17,000 on average by the time they left.