WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States (US) President Joe Biden said Friday he was cancelling student loans for an additional 55,000 Americans, which would amount to wiping out US$4.28 billion in debt in his final month in office.

The mass cancellation of debt is for “teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities,” he said in a statement issued by the White House Friday.

With this new crop of beneficiaries, it would mean “nearly five million people” have been approved for debt relief during Biden’s administration.

“From day one of my administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” the outgoing president said.

US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement that Friday’s approval brings the total amount secured during Biden’s four years in office to “nearly US$180 billion in life-changing student debt relief for nearly five million borrowers”.

The Democratic president had instated a landmark forgiveness program in 2022 to cancel hundreds of billions in student debt — which would have made certain borrowers eligible to receive US$20,000 in cancellations, while the vast majority were eligible for US$10,000.

But the conservative-dominated Supreme Court overruled the program in 2023, stating that given the large sum, the president had overstepped his powers.

In the United States, colleges can often cost anywhere between US$10,000 and US$70,000 a year, leaving some graduates with crushing debt as they enter the workforce.

According to the Pew Research Center, one in four American adults under 40 have student loan debt, with the median amount owed being between US$20,000 and US$25,000 in 2023, varying by education level.