The NUS Scotland Women’s Campaign believes that student
carers should be supported to access and stay in education. The
majority of student carers are women. A student carer is a #
student of any age who provides unpaid support to family or
friends who could not manage without this help. This could be
caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or
has mental health or substance misuse problems (but is
considered separate from student parents in regards to
funding). At the moment if you are a student and
a carer then you have no entitlement to any carer’s support
financially if you are in receipt of student support, i.e. bursary,
student loan etc. In addition, these students are not able to top
up their limited income with part time work since many will have
very little spare time to do much but study and their caring
duties. Being a student carer can have a negative impact on the
student experience and leave the student feeling isolated. Many
carers give up an income, future employment prospects, and
pension rights to become a carer. As a result, student carers are
at high risk of not entering education and if they do, dropping out
of their course. NUS Scotland Women’s Campaign believes that
student carers should be entitled to both ordinary student
support, in the form of loans/bursaries, and a student
carers’ allowance.
We are calling on the Scottish Government to commmit to fair
funding for student carers so that Student carers will be more
likely to enter into education, less likely to drop out of their
course and have a better student experience with decreased
financial, social and emotional pressures.
There are currently 4 signatures for this petition: