Poorer Students experience educational disadvantage because of SUSI
| 14 Nov 2012: posted by the editor - Ireland | |
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Thousands of students are facing extreme educational disadvantages because of the failure of SUSI to treat grant applicants properly, according to Kieran Allen, President of the Education Sector of SIPTU. Mr Allen said: "It is grossly unfair that less wealthy students who rely on a grant are unable to study properly because of the state’s policy of cutting back on public sector employment. "SUSI is clearly under-resourced and is not in a position to cope with the large number of grant applications. "It has not even been able to inform many students whether or not they are eligible for a grant. "One of my own students has already spent nine weeks on a course where he has been denied access to a library. "The reason is that SUSI have not told him whether he is eligible for a grant or not and so he cannot properly register. "ike many before him, this student, who needs grant support, began a course and is now at a severe disadvantage compared to others who can either personally pay for the course or whose parents help them. "It may be argued that universities should show more flexibility in this regard. If this is the case, however, is the duty of the Minister for Education to order the university authorities to open library and computing facilities to such students. More important, the Minister should recruit extra staff immediately to sort out this problem and issue an apology to the many young people who have experienced discrimination in silence because of an incompetent state." Tags: SIPTU, SUSI, public sector employment |
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