End adult learner debt for cancelled courses

Learners should not be left to pay for a ladder they cannot climb.

The government needs to take responsibility for the fact that hundreds of adults, through no fault of their own, are being left with debts for cancelled courses.

The honourable thing for ministers would be to acknowledge and fix the financial assurance failings on the part of the Skills Funding Agency, and to write off the debt.

There is a precedent here, given advanced learning loans are written off for Access to HE learners who go on to graduate from university.

Clearly if the SFA can help the learner find an alternative provider then that may be a suitable solution.

But learners we’ve spoken to say the help has been patchy, and there are clearly circumstances when an alternative provider is impractical.

That’s why as part of our #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign we will call on the government to end this type of learner debt.

So if Robert Halfon is serious about his ‘ladder of opportunity’ he must make sure people are not stranded at the bottom paying for it.

Read about the experiences of learners left in the lurch by training provider John Frank Training here.