The Open University Students Association's Student Leadership Team has led a campaign calling on the government to introduce changes to student finance support for part-time and distance-learning students.
Over 50 elected student leaders from 27 student unions, associations and guilds across England have signed an open letter to the Department for Education asking Ministers to consider three changes:
1) Extending access to the Childcare Grant to part-time students,
2) Extending access to Parents’ Learning Allowance to part-time students, and;
3) Extending the eligibility criteria for maintenance loans to include part-time students who complete their studies via distance-learning
Click here to read the full open letter to the Department for Education.
OU Students Association President, Margaret Greenaway, said: “This is a really important issue to resolve if the government wants to move towards a society where lifelong learning is available to people, irrespective of what stage of life they are at.
“The fact that so many student leaders from so many institutions across England have united on this issue demonstrates that this is not just an issue for institutions like the Open University. It shows that there is an increasing awareness that students need to be able to study at a part-time intensity to be able to cover the cost-of-living while studying.”