Students rage as NUIG refuses to waive fees
THE National University of Galway has been criticised for refusing to scrap its €295 fee for students who are repeating exams.
The university’s students’ union is calling for the fee to be scrapped this year due to the additional financial pressure the Covid-19 pandemic has put on students.
Students are also arguing that as this year’s exams were held online, overhead costs do not apply. NUIG students’ union president Pádraic Toomey told the Mail: ‘It’s a really big issue because it just exaggerates the idea that the university isn’t acknowledging that students are having a hard time.
‘DCU and Trinity have waived the fees. It’s just very disappointing.’
In a statement to the Mail last night, NUIG said that it charges a flat rate for referrals, while other universities charge a repeat fee per module, meaning that more than 99% of students subject to the fee will pay less than if they were in other universities.
It added that students in need of financial support can apply for a fee waiver for repeat exam fees, and that the fee supports all costs associated with repeats.
Referring to NUIG, a spokesman for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, said: ‘The Minister understands that Covid-19 has placed significant pressures on students, and believes that flexibility should be shown to students during this time.’
Meanwhile, A spokesman for the University of Limerick last night told the Mail that it ‘will not be waiving or reducing fees for students repeating exams’.