This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Extend the Parents' Learning Allowance to include part-time students
The Parent's Learning Allowance is the main option for parents seeking a higher education grant, and is limited to full-time undergraduate courses or Initial Teacher Training. This unintentionally sidelines many women and mothers. We want this allowance extended to all part-time parent learners.
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As it stands, we believe eligibility for the Parents' Learning Allowance inadvertently discriminates against women and in particular mothers. Women and mothers are far more likely to pursue part-time education, but this grant is currently not available to them, and there are also restrictions on student loans for part-time students. Mothers can be put at a further disadvantage because this system overlooks childcare costs. We have seen the effects of restrictions on financial support for part-time higher education courses already: since 2012 fewer women have enrolled in part-time higher education courses because they cannot afford to.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
36 signatures
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10,000 signatures required to get a government response