MP Takes up Cause of local 'Lifelong Learners'

3.48.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 14th Jan 2008

Graduates who try to improve their degrees or acquire additional qualifications face a big hike in fees or a cut back in opportunities under a new government initiative to steer resources away form graduates towards those who have never experienced higher education.

Vincent Cable, MP, was alerted to the issue by local Open University students and others trying to pursue higher level courses through adult education. He raised the issue in parliament with higher education minister Bill Rammell, drawing on this experience tutoring in the Open University in its earliest days.

"We can already see the adult college being badly hit by the governments 'one size fits all' approach to adult education and now the government has gone one step further to hit lifelong learners".

"In our borough there are many graduates who are seeking to change direction in later life professionally: women who have spent years bringing up a family; those who have retired or been made redundant prematurely and now looking to make a fresh start. Under the government's new rules they face maximum fees so that resources can be switched to those who never completed their education. In my view this quite unnecessarily pits one group against another, when there is benefit to society from both of them continuing their education".