Third-level access rules relaxed for young refugees
YOUNG refugees will no longer have to have spend three years in Irish schools to qualify for a grant for third-level education, it was announced yesterday.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris is changing the rules in the hope that more people will go to college.
In addition, any student who has already applied for further education will benefit from the changes.
The minister said: ‘The Government is committed to a new long-term approach to Direct Provision.
‘This will take time to implement but in the meantime, we will continue to make improvements for residents in Direct Provision.
‘Relaxing the criteria for the Student Support Scheme will hopefully result in more people accessing third-level education. This support scheme will also be put on a more long-term footing.’
He added: ‘I am acutely aware of the stress that students feel at this time and I hope that the changes that I have approved will address the fears of prospective applicants.’
Minister Harris confirmed the rules of the system would be relaxed and the scheme placed on a long-term footing following a review.
The scheme was introduced in 2015 and provides supports along similar lines to the current Student Grant Scheme to eligible applicants who are in the protection system, and who are either asylum applicants, subsidiary protection applicants, or leave-to-remain applicants.
But crucially, the rule that new applicants must have attended three academic years in the Irish school system and obtained the Leaving Certificate in the State is being scrapped.
However, prospective applicants will still have to meet the requirement to have been in the protection or leave-to-remain process for three years.
The closing date for 2020/21 applications is November 6 and any student who has already applied for support under the scheme will have their application reviewed under the new conditions.
The scheme was introduced on a pilot basis in 2015, but initially was restricted to those who had been enrolled in Irish schools for at least five years. This was reduced to three years in 2019.
The Irish Refugee Council has said that, by 2018, only five applicants out of 59, or 8.5%, had been granted financial support. The IRC welcomed the reform in a tweet yesterday, stating that this means there is ‘less red tape for asylum seekers seeking to access third-level education’ and that ‘education is so important for integration’.
‘Less red tape for asylum seekers’