A FORMER university student living with cancer and a rare muscle condition claims he has been denied an opportunity to finish his studies.

Zainul Khalifa had to drop out in the final year of his engineering degree at Blackburn College’s University Centre.

His decision came after he became ill and collapsed last year at his home in Blackburn.

The 25-year-old was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where he was later diagnosed with rare muscle condition polymyositis.

The life-long condition has left Mr Khalifa having to rely on a wheelchair and only able to walk a short distance.

Things then got even worse for Mr Khalifa in September last year when he was told by doctors that he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer.

Although he is now in remission after having chemotherapy, he has to have regular check-ups to ensure the cancer doesn’t come back.

After a seven-month stay in hospital, Mr Khalifa said he then contacted the college in January to ask if there was any way he could finish his degree.

He says he has been unable to get an answer from the college – but the college has advised him to follow its official complaints procedure.

Mr Khalifa, of Johnston Street, Blackburn, said: “I’ve contacted the college asking if I can complete my degree but I’ve heard nothing from them, other than to offer me a certificate for a diploma in higher education.”

Mr Khalifa said he completed his two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) Level 5 in engineering.

He then went on to do a two-year programme to top up his HND into a honours degree.

Mr Khalifa said he completed one year of this course and had reached the final few months when he then became ill and had to drop out.

He said: “I dropped out with a few months left and a couple of modules to complete and just wanted a chance to finish my degree and have been denied that.

“I feel as if I’ve failed my degree because of my muscle condition which I informed the college about and just want something to show for my time and effort as otherwise I feel as if I’ve wasted two years of my life.

“I’ve come to the point where I don’t even want to finish my degree because of the way in which the college has treated me.”

A spokesman for the college said: "Blackburn College is aware of Zainul’s situation. The college would not ordinarily discuss a student’s individual circumstances, however suggests that Zainul make use of the college’s complaints procedure that is available for all students to use.”