Have your say on government e-petitions

Extend the Parents' Learning Allowance to include part-time students

Submitted by Lauren Jane Barnett on Thursday 9th November 2023

Published on Thursday 23rd November 2023

Current status: Open

Open until: Thursday 23rd May 2024

Current Signatures: 36
(count is updated approximately hourly)

Relevant Departments

Petition Action

Extend the Parents' Learning Allowance to include part-time students

Petition Details

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.

Additional Information

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.


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