Madam, – I am writing in relation to recent changes made to the eligibility criteria for Higher Education Authority (HEA) grants and fees for students wishing to access postgraduate courses in Irish universities. I am a student wishing to study for a Master of Social Work programme in University College Cork. Until June of this year, I was eligible for payment of tuition fees and a maintenance grant that would have enabled me to participate in this course.
However, recent changes imposed by the HEA now preclude me from attending this course as I have failed to meet the relevant application criteria on the grounds that I have been absent from university for one year. As of June 1st, the HEA will no longer pay fees and grants to those absent from third-level full-time education for no less than three consecutive years.
Therefore I am no longer entitled to tuition fees, which total €14,000, or a maintenance grant, despite the fact that I received a grant for my previous four years of college. I am now considered to be an “independent mature” candidate, but due to the recession and the absence of full-time employment, I cannot afford to pay €14,000 fees, plus living expenses for a two-year, full-time course.
I find this move to be unfair to myself and to the thousands of students who are not in the position to pay expensive tuition fees and who are not eligible for student loans. I think that this move precludes those wishing to enter postgraduate courses as the fees are too high and also prevents them from accessing secure employment in the Irish labour market.
Not only will this absurd move prevent many graduates from accessing further education, it will also make them much less employable in the coming years and not fit for our new “smart economy”. This is a counter-productive measure that will undoubtedly add to increased unemployment and a surge in social welfare applications. I believe the cost to the taxpayer will be enormous, as those wishing to access postgraduate courses will now be denied this valuable opportunity.
I would like to illustrate this point using the following logic. The Department of Social and Family Affairs will end up paying out approximately €20,000 (per person) in social welfare payments over the two-year period when one could be in college obtaining an MA, thus leaving college to begin a life of paying taxes.
I do not suppose for one second that the HEA will change this new rule, but I would be very interested to hear why they have brought this rule in at such a late stage, when postgraduate applications have been submitted, and people have been through gruelling interviews.
– Yours, etc,