A YOUNG woman's dream of going to university to train as a healthworker has been dashed because she is an asylum seeker.

Flores Sukula, aged 21, who has lived in Bolton since 2001 when her family fled the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was given a place on a health studies degree at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

But she has had to decline her place because she is classed as an overseas student, which means she has to pay between £7,000 and £8,000 - more than the £3,150 a British resident would pay.

Different rules at other universities allow asylum seekers to be treated as British students, in which case they may also be eligible for loans or grants.

Immigration officers are currently reconsidering the Sukula family's case to stay in the UK, following a campaign backed by The Bolton News.

Despite the well-documented atrocities in the DRC, the Home Office initially rejected the family's application for asylum.

The former Bolton Sixth-Form College student, who lives in Great Lever, said: "My ambition is to work in midwifery and make a valuable contribution to the community I live in.

"But I cannot afford to take my place. I am very upset. I am trying to keep busy with voluntary work but without this education, I am stuck. I want to work hard and do well."

Now supporters of the family have launched another campaign to help her get on the course.

Campaigner Jason Travis said: "We are trying to persuade the university to accept Flores as a British as opposed to an overseas student, so she can take up this place.

"I understand in some cases universities do consider asylum seekers as British students and we are asking MMU to do the same. The fees would be lower, and she may be entitled to help and take up her place."

A spokesman for MMU said the university would be "delighted to welcome Flores" as a student but her status, under Home Office rules, means she is not eligible for "home fees".

He said Flores would be eligible for home fees' if she was granted refugee status, allowing her to stay in the UK He said: " We are monitoring the situation. Even if her refugee claim is refused she may also be granted home fee' status, if she is given discretionary leave to stay.

"MMU receives hundreds of applications each year from asylum seekers like Flores, so it would be difficult to set a precedent in this case by changing the rules on compassionate grounds."