Worcester Park Tamil student fights Sutton Council for tuition fees (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Worcester Park Tamil student fights Sutton Council for tuition fees

6:50am Friday 25th September 2009

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A teenage refugee is threatening to sue the council after it rejected his application for student support.

Sri Lankan Para Baskaran, 19, of Inverness Road, Worcester Park, started a sociology course at Roehampton University last year and since then has applied for retrospective financial support, to cover the costs of his studies and living.

Mr Baskaran, who is Tamil, moved to the UK when he was nine, after his family lost their home and was forced to live in refugee camps. His mother died when he was seven in the conflict between Tamils and the Sri Lankan army.

Even though he was allowed to stay in this country by the Home Office, Sutton Council refused Mr Baskaran’s application for financial support because his stepmother was not married to his father when she was granted refugee status in 2001.

He said: “They rejected my application on the basis of ‘discretionary policy’.

"I am entitled to this grant and proof of that is my sister was awarded it by West Sussex Council. I just want to finish my studies so I can work in social policy consulting.”

Mr Baskaran, who was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in March this year, was told by the university he cannot return until he pays the outstanding fees.

Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, said: “I am asking both Sussex and Sutton how they came to their respective conclusions and trying to find out how they reached different outcomes for people in the exact same circumstances.

“I hope we can find out ways to resolving this without the need for a judicial review.”

A spokesman for Sutton Council said: “Mr Baskaran’s application was turned down in accordance with Government guidelines.

“The rules are complicated, but as Mr Baskaran does not have refugee status in his own right, he would only qualify as a child of a refugee if his step-mother had been his step-mother on the date she applied for refugee status and we do not believe this was the case.

“To be certain we are being fair to him, we have written to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to clarify the rules and check our decision was correct. We will be in touch with him as soon as we have a response.”

According to the UK Council for International Student Affairs, students are entitled to support if they have applied for asylum in the UK and the Home Office has decided they do not qualify for refugee status, but should be allowed to stay in the UK.

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