No one should have to choose between their religion and their education.

It is a fundamental human right to have access to education. However, for many students in the UK, the student finance system acts as a barrier to human rights attainment. Many Muslim students are forced to either compromise their religious beliefs, which prohibit them from indulging in interest-based finance, or their future career and education aspirations. In order to obtain equality, this needs to change. There are many existing barriers, implicit and explicit, faced by BAME and religious minority students within the UK Education System. The traditional Student Finance loan, which charges interest beyond inflation, is yet another barrier for Muslim students.

Students like me are left feeling excluded and lost due to the lack of guidance and action by the government. I've been offered places from multiple Russell Group universities for a course related to my passion for Human Rights. My goal is to work for organisations like the UN or the Civil Service, however, the Student Finance system has hindered my aspirations. I am not alone in this; this situation is applicable to many other young Muslims aspiring to make a positive difference to the UK, whether through teaching, medicine or politics.

When I was starting secondary school in 2014, the Government launched a consultation which found that an alternative finance model was necessary in order to enable Muslim students to pursue higher education. An alternate model was proposed by universities and ministers under the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition. This model would have seen Muslim students pay back the same amount as other students but without compromising their religion. However, there was no law passed, despite the consultation's recommendations and the Prime Minister’s public promise in 2013.

Personally, I have had to resort to applying frantically to foundations and charities, in hope of accessing funding for my £27,000 degree. I face great uncertainty regarding my future aspirations and the path I am able to take. It's been 6 years since the consultation was launched, and the government has missed the opportunity to help me and thousands of other students in my position to realise our potential.

This petition intends to eradicate the barriers enforced by the UK Education System for the benefit of future students. With your help, we can petition the government to act on their own consultation and implement a finance system that is fair to all. Even if it's too late for me, I do not want future students to face the same barriers that I did. This means a great deal to me, so please join me in compelling the government to act quickly and enable as many young people as possible to fulfil their potential.