Harriet Swain's article on the new policy of charging international fees to young people with discretionary leave to remain highlights the latest blow to young asylum seekers' chances of getting to university (Barred from university, Education, 31 May).
Young people who are still waiting for their asylum claim to be resolved have been in this position for many years. They are expected to go to school like everyone else and yet, if they work hard and get a place at university, they suddenly find themselves separated from their classmates, called international students and charged huge fees to take up that place. With no access to loans or bursaries, higher education has become a hopeless dream rather than a reality for the educationally high-achieving asylum seeker.
This policy is not supported by students. More than 5,000 university students at 35 universities have joined the Student Action for Refugees campaign to ask vice-chancellors to charge home fees and grant bursaries to their asylum-seeking classmates. The campaign is gaining the support of university staff who agree that access to university should be based on academic achievement, not whether the Home Office has managed to assess an asylum claim.
Emma Williams
Chief executive, Star (Student Action for Refugees)