According to its review, Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA), the government financial scheme offered to hard-up students, has fallen behind inflationary rises and is unfit for purpose.

The top rate EMA, currently at £30 a week, has not been increased since the programme was launched in 2004. The NUS is calling for it to be raised to £40 to help poor learners who are struggling to meet course costs.

Shane Chowen, NUS Vice President for Further Education, says: "It is not acceptable that so many poorer students are unable to afford the basic costs of further education. The top rate of the EMA has not been raised in line with inflation for the last six years, and we believe that it is time that the Government redressed this imbalance.

"The Government must also remove the bureaucratic obstacles which prevent many students from receiving the funds they need. At a time of economic uncertainty, when many families are living with the threat of redundancy, the system must be changed to allow students to reapply for the EMA if their family circumstances change in the middle of the academic year."

A poll of more than 1,600 learners reveals 55 per cent of those who receive EMA would not be able to continue their Further Education studies without it. However, a fifth found its application process to be "difficult" or "very difficult".

Mr Chowen also criticises colleges for being unresponsive to the needs of students with long-term health conditions, citing reports of EMA being refused to those unable to attend classes because of doctor's appointments.

He adds: "The Young Persons Learning Agency must make the guidance on EMA much stronger, so that the rules regarding Reasonable Authorised Absence are perfectly clear to students and colleges."

Jason Rainbow

(Pictured: Shane Chowen, NUS Vice President for Further Education)