The Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program will bring relief to millions of Americans burdened by college debt at a time when inflation is making it difficult for them to pay for rising food and energy bills.

A survey released last week of debtors who paused their student loans found that only 14% of respondents say they can afford the payments with no issues when the forbearance period ends. In addition, 42% of respondents said they aren't sure how they will add loan payments to their budget.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing the perfect storm of economic stress on households where higher prices, interest rates, property assessments, and more make it very difficult for many people to live within their means," said Carlos Medina, senior vice president at One Technologies, a Dallas-based company that offers membership-based credit-monitoring product ScoreSense. "For many student loan holders, making payments in 2020 was much easier than it will be when they resume."

The loan forgiveness program timing couldn't have been better, as it will help address most of these problems when people need it most, but it won't fix a system that pushed these Americans into debt in the first place. That's the consensus among the experts International Business Times conducted via email.

Danilo Umali of Game Theory College Planners said that the loan forgiveness program treats the symptoms but doesn't cure the disease of student loan debt.

Easy access to federal funding has accommodated tuition hikes by colleges, which pushed up the cost of education and, eventually, the need for loans to pay for it. It has perpetuated a cycle of student debt spike and student debt forgiveness -- an issue economists call a "moral hazard" problem.

Umali questioned whether the socioeconomic group, which has accumulated the most significant chunk of student debt, really needed the federal money in the first place. Other sources are available to fund the cost of education from private institutions instead of the government.

"Even students with mediocre grades and test scores can finance 90% of their education from private college grants and scholarships if household income is less than $60,000 to $70,000 per year," Umali said.

Umali noted that government programs supporting education should focus on outcomes rather than causes.

"For those college bound, we need to shift the focus from attending college to graduating from college," he said. "There is no emphasis on subsidizing outcomes. We don't need money for kids to go to college; we need money to graduate from college. College dropouts earning minimum wage can't afford to pay back student loans."

Jacob Hess, co-founder of cybersecurity training school NGT Academy, echoed the growing sentiment that more industries are placing less importance on four-year degrees.

"In IT, hiring managers no longer put much emphasis on college degrees; instead, they're looking for valuable skills and certifications that prove they have some knowledge in a particular area," said Hess.

Mark Kantrowitz, President of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, told IBT that he sees student loan forgiveness as a one-time event that benefits borrowers who have already separated from their institutions by graduating or dropping out.

Kantrowitz said that it does not increase college access or college success. Instead, he stresses the importance of programs like Pell Grants, which increase low-income student college enrollment and graduation.