Project_8769 ASF Sharia Secretariat Supervisory Board con_26061

In April 2014, the DfE launched a consultation which sought views on the acceptability of a Sharia-compliant alternative student finance (ASF) product. Following a positive response to the proposal, the Government committed to the introduction of an ASF product, using the Islamic finance principle of 'Takaful' to provide a form of group-based mutual support.

The Government has since legislated to make a system of ASF possible, when the power for this was taken in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and has worked with specialist advisers on the development of an ASF model.

Alongside this, the Government has been reforming the student finance system to put it on a sustainable footing for the long term and is introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), that will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support.

In March 2023, as part of the LLE consultation response, the DfE committed to delivering ASF as soon as possible after the introduction of the LLE.

In August 2023, the Student Loans Company (SLC) started work on understanding the timescales for delivering an ASF product and, to support this, are being provided with specialist advice by Islamic finance experts.