Long-term prisoners ‘should be allowed student loans’

A report from the Open University and the Higher Education Policy Institute in the United Kingdom says prisoners serving long sentences should be able to take out student loans to pay for degree courses, but the Department for Education says there are no plans for a change of policy, writes Sean Coughlan for the BBC.

They say improving inmates’ education would cut reoffending rates and so reduce the overall cost to the public. Prisoners would need to borrow £18,000 (US$23,000) for tuition fees for a distance-learning Open University degree.

Currently, only prisoners within six years of release are eligible for student loans to cover tuition fees in England and Wales, which Higher Education Policy Institute Director Nick Hillman said “beggars belief”. “Prisoners who seek to improve their education are positive role models for other prisoners and are less likely to reoffend on release,” he said.
Full report on the BBC News site