A generation of British professionals is drowning in debt as predatory interest rates turn modest student loans into insurmountable financial mountains.

The story of Helen Lambert is a chilling case study of a broken system. Borrowing Sh9.7 million (£57,000) to become a nurse—a profession that forms the backbone of the health service—she has seen her debt balloon to a staggering Sh13 million (£77,000). This is despite her making regular repayments from her salary. The culprit? Crippling interest rates that add over Sh68,000 (£400) to her balance every single month.

A Life Sentence of Debt

This is not just about money; it is about social mobility being strangled. Lambert, like millions of others on the UK's "Plan 2" loans, is trapped in a cycle where the interest outpaces the repayments.

• The Math Doesn't Work: Paying Sh25,000 (£145) a month while Sh68,000 (£400) is added in interest is a financial death spiral.
• The Political Angle: Labour MP Nadia Whittome revealed she owes nearly Sh8.5 million (£49,600) despite earning a top-tier salary. If MPs can't pay it off, who can?
• The Policy Failure: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has frozen repayment thresholds, effectively a stealth tax that forces graduates to pay more as inflation bites.

The Kenyan Comparison: HELB on Steroids

For Kenyans, this scenario is a terrifying "what if." We complain about the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and its Sh5,000 penalty fees or the threat of listing on CRB. But imagine a HELB loan that charges commercial interest rates so high that your principal amount doubles in five years. That is the reality for UK graduates. It is a cautionary tale for Kenya as we debate the "University Funding Model." Commoditizing education to this extent doesn't just burden the individual; it arrests the economic development of an entire generation who cannot afford mortgages or savings because they are servicing a debt that never shrinks.

The Graduate Tax Reality

Experts are now calling it what it is: a graduate tax. You pay 9% of your income for 30 years, and then it's written off. But for those 30 years, the psychological weight of a Sh13 million debt hanging over your head is crushing. "It is so disheartening," Lambert says. It is a sentiment that resonates from London to Nairobi—the feeling that the system is rigged to keep you running on a treadmill that goes nowhere.