In the largest single student-debt cancellation ever by the federal government, the Education Department announced that it will forgive all outstanding loans held by students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges. In total, the department will forgive $5.8 billion in student-loan debt, held by an estimated 560,000 student borrowers. The Corinthian schools were founded in 1995 and closed in 2015, when the company declared bankruptcy; all who attended within that time period are eligible for debt forgiveness, and the cancellation will occur automatically. Of the now-defunct company, said Education Secretary Miguel Cardonay. “Corinthian engaged in wholesale financial exploitation of students, misleading them into taking on more and more debt to pay for promises they would never keep.” While many are celebrating the administration’s announcement, Biden is still facing pressure from some activists to cancel all student-loan debt.
