A SCOTTISH nursing student from a one parent family fears she will have to drop out of her course because of a lack of financial support.
Bryony Morkel, 18, from Aberdeen, has been accepted onto a nursing course at Edinburgh University, which starts this summer.
Although she receives a bursary of £6,578 a year she says she will not be able to make ends meet because she is not eligible for any other form of support such as student loans.
Her mother Jane Riach, who earns less than £24,000, has now written to the Scottish Government to highlight her concerns and call for a change in funding rules.
Bryony said: "It is very frustrating. I am very grateful for the bursary, but it doesn't cover living costs and accommodation and I would only have £50 a month left over.
"They won't even allow me to borrow money through student loans and that leaves me with commercial loans and the prospect of significant debt. I feel I am being punished for wanting to go to university."
Mrs Riach added: "Having one of my children accepted for university is a wonderful opportunity, and has brought a great sense of pride to my daughter and myself, but I now feel quite inadequate and desperate.
"I am unable to help fulfil her dream of becoming a nurse because I cannot afford the living costs whilst she is at university and we have no access to any further funding apart from the bursary.
"Our situation is critical and Bryony is now considering withdrawing her place from university. Bryony deserves to have a place, she has worked hard for this and it is heart breaking to think she would have the opportunity taken away due to embedded social inequality."
A Scottish Government advisory group has already been set up to look at improving support packages for nursing and midwifery students in future, but the Morkel family are concerned it will come too late for them.
Ellen Hudson, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, called for action to address the problem.
She said: "Student nurses should have the support they need to be able to finish their studies without falling into financial hardship.
"Unlike other students, those training to be nurses have a 45-week academic year and must spend half of their time out on placements, gaining the practical skills and expertise they will need. This restricts their opportunities to supplement their student funding."
Emily Beever, women's officer for student body NUS Scotland, said it was "incredibly concerning" if any student considered dropping out of education.
She said: "It is right that nursing students, who spend half of their degree on placement in the healthcare system, receive their support entirely in the form of a cash bursary, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of having a shortfall compared to other students.
"While a universal grant for nursing students recognises the vital work they do, it isn’t right that those from the poorest households receive a lower overall level of support than their counterparts studying other degrees."
The nursing and midwifery students bursary is administered by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government’s health and social care directorate.
All student receive the bursary, which is worth some £6,578 per year, but because those in receipt of the bursary cannot access student loans it means those with a household income of less than £24,000 get a lower overall amount of support compared to mainstream students of up to £1,047.
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