Expert condemns high court decision to deny student loan to mature student

11 April 2003

The High Court has upheld a decision by North Tyneside Council to refuse a student loan to a 55-year-old mature student. Eric Douglas applied for the £500 loan to help him in his studies for a Higher National Diploma (HND) course in counselling at North Tyneside College, following his recent success in obtaining a BTec Higher National Certificate.

Tom Schuller, Professor of Lifelong Learning and Dean of the Faculty of Continuing Education at Birkbeck, University of London - which specialises in the provision of higher education for mature students - says: "This is clearly an absurd decision. Mr Douglas has demonstrated his commitment to studying, gaining the kind of vocational qualification which the government supports. He wishes to proceed to a level three qualification, which is precisely the level at which Britain is arguably most lacking in skills."

A former sales manager, Mr Douglas suffers severe arthritis following a fall. On Thursday 10 April, the BBC News website quoted Mr Douglas as saying: "I am unemployed and desperately looking for work, which was my reason behind doing the course - especially now we have to work until we are 70 to get a pension. I have many useful years left in me to help the community. I am being refused a loan on the pretext that I won't be able to pay it back before I'm 65 years old."

Professor Schuller continues: "The argument that the training will not pay off because Mr Douglas will be retiring soon does not stack up. Given that we live in an ageing society, you would expect every encouragement to be given to those who wished to maintain economic activity for as long as possible. This will also help us meet the challenge of pensions obligations. In any case, older people tend to be more committed to their employers, and provide a good payback on any investment in training. Above all, we should be gearing up for a positive, not a grudging, response to the European directive. The Government says this is truly the era of lifelong learning; this judgement goes in exactly the opposite direction."

At the hearing in London, Barrister Philip Plowden said the ruling was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in two instances: on the basis that Mr Douglas is being denied his right to an education, and through ageist discrimination - banned under article 14.

A recent paper by Professor Schuller entitled 'Delivering Age Equality in Education' and commissioned by the Institute for Public Policy Research, dealt with the issue of age discrimination in education. It recommended that every adult over 55 should be given an annual education grant to counter systemic inequality in educational opportunity.

"Older people are discriminated against in the allocation of education resources and still participate less in almost every form of learning from basic skills provision to higher education," says Professor Schuller. "Around 33% of over 55s lack basic skills and qualifications but they have significantly less access to education and training."

Professor Schuller adds: "Participation in education can change older people's lives. Some use it to return to the labour market, others to improve their quality of life. We must recognise that it is not only the young who need access to all the benefits that education can bring."

Contact:
Catherine Doherty, Media and Publicity Officer
External Relations, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX
Tel 020 7631 6569
Fax 020 7631 6351
Email c.doherty@bbk.ac.uk

Top