Student finance in the UK is built on four planks: commercial credit, part time work, parental funding, and government support. The first three are beginning to crack.

Commercial loans should never have been a key part of our student funding model. People should not be leaving university with up to £30,000 of high interest overdraft. But the one thing worse than being in debt is not being given the credit you need to live.

In recent months, students have started to trickle into the EUSA Advice Place with a problem we haven’t seen before. They have applied for an overdraft limit and been turned down. Newly risk-averse banks have decided that they are no longer willing to gamble on students. This is pretty horrifying. Most students borrow money because they need it to get by. Without their overdraft or credit card, they would not be able to stay at university. Fortunately, those who have come to the Advice Place so far have got bursaries from the university. But most students apply for an overdraft at the start of the academic year. If banks are still not lending at the end of the summer, thousands will be denied credit they cannot get by without.

On its own student credit drying up is a terrifying prospect. But that’s just the start. The Careers Service is working harder than ever to find students part-time jobs. Yet the number of posts advertised there has dropped by 20 per cent on last year. Some still manage to find work. But for others, the desperate need for a job is matched by cuts from those hiring. One student I have spoken to has applied for 60 jobs, and only had two interviews.

Without part-time jobs, many couldn’t get by. 31 per cent of Edinburgh University students work to fund their degree. Most of these say this pays for essentials – rent, bills and food. Unless the job market rallies before next term, many will find themselves with serious problems. Our education system shouldn’t depend on full-time students working hours behind a bar. But without these jobs, many may have to drop out of university.

The third plank of our student funding system is parental support. Much has been written about the credit crunch, and I don’t need to repeat it here. But it goes without saying that many parents will no longer be able to provide the support they once did.

Which means the final plank—government support—is all that’s left for many. The overly complex system of student funding is a nightmare to navigate. But some things are consistent. Student support levels are lower than the poverty line. They are also less than you would get if you were unemployed. More importantly, they are not enough to live off.

This year, EUSA has been pushing the Scottish government to increase the level of student support to £7,000 a year. This is a modest amount, but would mean students could get by – just. It would help to ensure that access to education is defined by ability rather than wealth. And now, more than ever, it is absolutely crucial.

Some will argue that the middle of a recession is the worst time to ask for a boost in funds. But I would disagree. Funding students through education—and, similarly, funding our universities—is absolutely crucial to rebuilding the economy we need. The credit crunch will be painful. We can’t change that. What we can shape is the kind of society we emerge with. If we don’t boost student support levels, we will allow education to become the preserve of elites. In doing so we will be stepping back to a world where your prospects in life are defined by your parents' wealth, rather than your ability.

Alternatively we can start to build the society we need. With looming climatic catastrophe, oil rapidly running out, and a broken economic system, we desperately need all hands on deck. And we need these hands to have the best possible understanding of the world we have found ourselves in. Our generation is going to have to clean up this mess. The least the government can do is ensure everyone can afford to learn how.