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Cameron Mason - Source: ONE News -
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A Canterbury University student is fighting what he calls a clear-cut case of discrimination, after being turned down for a student allowance.
Cameron Mason started a double degree in astronomy and philosophy.
He has been granted a student loan and meets the criteria for a student allowance, but for one thing.
He can't get one because he's too young.
At over 1.8 metres tall, Mason blends in well with other students, but the difference is that he is just 15 years-old.
That means, while he's signed up for maths, physics, astronomy and philosophy, he can't sign up for a student allowance.
"If he was 16 he would get $73 a week," says Cameron's mother Rhonda Mason.
The Ministry of Education says under 16-year-olds are not eligible for the student allowance.
In a statement Minister of Education Anne Tolley says "because 16 is the age of parental responsibility...the policy assumes he's cared for by his parents at home."
However Cameron Mason is deemed responsible enough to take out a student loan.
"So at the end of this year it's nearly $12,000 this 15-year-old can have. So the government's quite happy to give him, all this money that he will pay back but he's not allowed the full package," says Rhonda Mason.
Mason's age was also an issue when it came to leaving school. He has a full schedule of lectures and tutorials, but he's had to remain enrolled at his old school. His school applied to the Ministry for him to study at university because under 16 year-olds can only enrol from school if they're kicked out, or are to attend course for lower achievers.
MP Ruth Dyson Says bright kids should get support .
"If we had a system where a group of people all sharing the best interests of the young person got together and said we should make an exception in the circumstances, that would provide us with the checks and balances we need," says Dyson.
Mason agrees; "since education is an important thing you'd think that people would try and encourage it rather than stifle it."
