Student leaders and opposition politicians are demanding answers from the Scottish Government after it emerged that thousands of university students have still to receive vital bursary and loans cash.

The National Union of Students said an investigation is needed to establish why some are still waiting for their money.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats demanded Education Secretary Mike Russell make an urgent statement to Parliament on the issue. About 6,000 students have not yet had their funding application processed by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

The Scottish Government agency has received just over 151,000 applications for bursaries and loans, and has dealt with more than 145,000. The remaining applications are expected to be processed by the end of November, with the SAAS website stating this is its "main priority at the moment".

To help it deal with the outstanding applications more quickly, NUS Scotland president Robin Parker said the Government must consider giving SAAS additional resources.

"Students who have not received support funding have every right to be upset, and are absolutely right to expect a better level of service. Many students rely on this funding to afford their education, and could struggle to remain at university without this much-needed support," said Mr Parker.

"The Scottish Government needs to investigate why students will still be waiting for their support payments in November and look very closely at providing the additional resources SAAS would need to process applications quicker. In the meantime, students who are struggling should contact their university's student services department to see if they can qualify for hardship funding."

Labour education spokesman Hugh Henry said the situation means that "many students cannot pay their rent or buy their shopping".

He said: "Mike Russell needs to come clean and tell students and the Scottish Parliament just what is going on at SAAS. He should make an urgent statement to the Scottish Parliament and tell students when this will be sorted out."

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Liam McArthur said: "The Education Secretary needs to sort this out and do it quickly. It is inexcusable that thousands of students do not yet have the loans and bursaries they need to pay for food and rent."