A government policy that has been called "ridiculous, ageist and lacking common sense" is hindering a nursing student from completing a qualification at Whanganui UCOL.
Denise Davies 59, has completed six of the eight papers required for her to complete a Diploma in Enrolled Nursing and she has just four months of study until she qualifies.
She has done the course with the assistance of a living costs allowance paid by Studylink as part of a student loan package. However because of changes to the rules in 2011, students over 55 do not qualify for living costs and Ms Davies was paid the allowance in error.
"I had to re-enrol for the new semester and when I did, Studylink staff informed me that I do not qualify for living costs.
"I then went to Work and Income where I was told that I am not eligible for a benefit unless I am available to look for full-time work.
"A case worker did try to help and I was referred back to Studylink where I was required to obtain a statement of satisfactory progress from the training provider but I'm still not receiving any support." She had provided the statement.
StudyLink general manager Susan Kosmala said Ms Davies was told by staff that she did not qualify for the allowance.
"In August 2013 Ms Davies was advised in writing and over the phone that she would no longer be entitled to living costs for her new course of study.
"Due to an administration error, Ms Davies continued to receive living costs until August 2014.
"This has been corrected and we are unable to continue to pay someone money they are not entitled to.
"We have looked into Ms Davies' case and can confirm her most recent student assistance application has been assessed correctly" said Ms Kosmala.
Ms Davies said she had become confused about the different allowances she was eligible for.
The Government made the changes because evidence showed that borrowers in older age groups had a lower return on investment and were likely to be in the workforce for a shorter time and less likely than younger borrowers to repay their loans.
The Government changed the criteria for student loan eligibility in May 2011 so that from January 2013, people aged 55 years and over are no longer eligible for living costs or course-related costs.
Ms Davies' dilemma comes as as New Zealand is facing a nursing shortage.
Liz Robinson of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation said she thinks the Government's policy is "ridiculous and ageist".
"We are facing a massive nursing shortage in the next few years and mature nurses have a really good range of skills and abilities that they bring to the job.
"There are many nurses working into their late sixties and seventies doing an excellent job but half of our current nursing workforce is due to retire in the next few years.
"We anticipate a shortage of around 15,000 nurses by 2035 so nurses in their 50s coming in now will really help to fill that gap.
"We expect young people to have up to six career changes during their working lives but people in their 50s are tossed on to the scrap heap if they need to retrain and don't have the means to pay for it."
Whanganui MP Chester Borrows said Ms Davies is fortunate to have received living costs for the past year and should not expect any government support to complete her course.
"She has the intelligence to get this far on a government allowance she wasn't entitled to because of a slip-up, she should be able to support herself to finish her course.
"Many mature students don't repay their loans and that is why the policy change was introduced - she could work part time or borrow money from a bank."
Ms Davies says she has looked at those options and she does not qualify for a bank loan as she is studying full-time and will be required to go on work placements. Part-time work was not possible even if it was available.
"I worked during the break and I have investigated a partial early withdrawal from my KiwiSaver fund but that will take a couple of months to process."
Labour's tertiary education spokesman Chris Hipkins said the inflexibility of the policy regarding mature students creates a lot of problems.
"There is no room to account for people's individual circumstances and it doesn't reflect the reality of people's lives.
"To pay people to stay at home and trawl the internet for jobs they are not qualified for or expect them to take low paid jobs rather than support them to up-skill is just not common sense.
"The world has changed dramatically and the taxpayer will ultimately be better off if a mature student in this position is able to get the qualification, earn a decent income and pay more tax."
A beneficiary on jobseeker support receives a basic benefit rate of $209.06 per week while a student gets living costs of $175.96 each week, making an annual difference of $1721 dollars per year.
Ms Davies says she has always had a passion for nursing and years of experience as a healthcare assistant.
"I am currently studying to achieve my enrolled nursing qualification so I can find employment and provide quality health care. I am so close to achieving that goal and right now I don't have the means to make the finish line."
Ms Davies says the nursing tuition at UCOL is excellent and it has been worth leaving her family in Napier to study in Wanganui.
"I was feeling good, like I'm doing well and I have just four months until I graduate and this has really put a dampener on things.
"I have been really touched by people's kindness, a nursing student from another class presented me with a grocery voucher - he had heard about my problem and had a whip round for me."