The Student Loans Company (SLC) and the Office for Students (OfS) have detected several fraudulent student loan claims linked to franchised higher education providers.
The Department for Education (DfE) has since informed the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) that they are investigating the regulatory arrangements of student loans.
This includes evaluating whether some students “existed’ and/or ‘attended courses.”
Students must now submit proof of participation to receive their SLC loan.
The GIAA found that whilst the SLC and OfS had no “formal role” in enabling the fraudulent cases, their lack of regulations facilitated its persistence.
One fraudulent case linked to organised crime was tied to the SLC as a result of identity theft and false documentation.
Meg Hillier, chairmen of the Public Accounts Committee, told The Guardian that the recent findings demonstrate a clear disregard for “students and taxpayers’ interests which have been exploited.”
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