世界的に増加する学生の借金が解決策の模索に拍車

loan ローン / debt 借金 / worldwide 世界中 / overall 全体 / trillion 兆 / owe 借りている / oversee 監督する / similar 類似した / condition 状態 / exist 存在する / former 前の / demand 要求する / seek 捜す / invest 投資する / public 公共の / refuse 拒絶する / raise 持ち上げる / tax 税 / attend 〈学校に〉通う / institution 施設 / costly 金のかかる / complete 完了する / financial 財務の

Student loan debt is a worldwide problem. In the United States, the country’s overall student debt reached a record $1.6 trillion this year. The average person with student loan debt in the U.S. owes between $20,000 and nearly $25,000.

In Japan, the group that oversees the government’s student loan system recently reported it has been lending over $9 billion to students every year since 2010.

Similar conditions exist in Africa and South America, says former United Nations Population Division director Joseph Chamie. He suggests several reasons for high student loan debt. One is that employers everywhere have increased their demands for skilled workers, making higher education a requirement for many jobs. This means more students are seeking higher education worldwide than ever before.

At the same time, governments are investing less money in public colleges and universities. They are refusing to raise taxes, and use existing tax money to meet other needs, Chamie says. So, more students are attending private institutions, which are often more costly.

However, students often find that once they complete their education, their country’s economy is not strong enough to support their financial needs. For example, about 28 percent of four-yeardegree holders in Malaysia had no job in 2015.