NUS-USI, the Northern Ireland Student Movement, has given a cautious welcome to the new student finance package announced by Minister for Higher and Further Education Sean Farren last week.

A means-tested grant of up to £1,500 for full-time undergraduates, an increase in the parental income threshold for paying tuition fees from £17,805 to £20,000 and abolition of fees for a number of vocational further education courses are included in the package.

NUS-USI convenor Brian Slevin said he was "pleased" the Minister had accepted that maintenance support is required to promote participation in third-level education. "We are disappointed that government will continue to charge many students and their families fees in higher education. "We feel that the continuation of tuition fees in higher education, albeit with higher assessment thresholds, will still prove to be a source of student hardship and a deterrent to college entry." NUS-USI has organised a conference to discuss the minister's report, on April 30th in the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast.

Speakers will include national student officers; Dr Esmond Birnie MLA, chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly's further and higher education committee; Prof Bob Osborne of the University of Ulster; and Prof Claire Callender of South Bank University.