I agree with this. I was an Army Scholar/University Bursar who wanted to join the Army Air Corps. I went through the aptitude testing and flight grading (all passed) only to fail a minor medical 3 months prior to going to Sandhurst due to eczema on my hands. Any investment on a PPL would have been a waste of time. Tell him to get his head in the right place for passing all the selection tests and then, hopefully once he's sailed through, he can enjoy having al his training paid for!