[Retric]

The 10-20% discount is just another way of saying the loans have a direct cost of 10-20% and then get indexed to inflation. With that 10-20% upfront cost plus inflation adjustments work out close to the same net cost as my 3.2% student loans in the US assuming you pay them back in a 10-20 year time frame.

[jessriedel]

In other words, the government is subsidizing the loan just like in the US.