Worried students left in the dark over grants payments
CONFUSION OVER NEW APPLICATION SYSTEM
FRUSTRATED FAMILIES all over Wexford have been grappling with the new college grants application system as students face lengthy delays before they find out whether or not they will be paid. A new centralised system of processing applications has proven not to be the boon it was expected to be.
In the past, the paperwork was handled by VECs around the country who dealt with the students from their particular area. Now responsibility has been handed over to an organisation called SUSI set up by the City of Dublin VEC, resulting in long delays and widespread confusion.
It has been a case of crying wake up little SUSI for many applicants as officials in Dublin have been slow to pick up the phone to deal with queries. The mother of one student from the south of County Wexford reported that she spent €20 of phone credit hanging on the line to the office in the capital - and she still had not resolved her offspring's problem.
Adding to the chaos is the fact that many third level colleges are under pressure to keep their own finances in order by collecting €2,500 registration fees per head. Students who qualify for grants are not liable to come up with the money but the fact it that many still do not know whether or not they have been approved for the State payment more than two months after the start of term.
‘You had to apply on line, which was supposed to speed things up,' says Stephanie Byrne at the constituency office of Deputy John Browne. She has been assisting scores of families as they wrestle with SUSI, becoming an expert in navigating a way through the forms and the requests for supporting documents and she is not impressed by the level of red tape.
‘ They are nearly asking how many squares of toilet paper do you use,' she commented through gritted teeth. According to figures circulated by Deputy Browne's office last week, almost 50,000 third level students around Ireland are still awaiting a decision on their student grants.’
A total of 21,000 applications have been returned marked incomplete, with students being asked for further documentation or information. The process has turned into a nightmare, says Stephanie Byrne, as some colleges are threatening not to release examination results as they look for payment of registration fees - which may not actually be due.
In one case, a young man gave up his parttime job after being informed that he had been approved for grant payment. He was then left financially high and dry when SUSI made contact again, to state that a mistake had been made and he was no longer eligible.
The stakes for the applicants are high, especially in the case of a county such as Wexford where so many school leavers have to leave home in order to continue their education. As they face the expensive prospect of commuting to Waterford or setting up in Dublin flats, the prospect of grant aid up worth up to €5,915 is vital.
The system extends to the post Leaving courses offered at schools such as Enniscorthy Vocational College where experience of the SUSI regime has been mixed. One student there was happy to report that he had received his grant, which was transmitted directly into his bank account, though the procedure was less than instantaneous.
‘I filled out the application form in June,' he reported. ‘Four or five months is fairly slow and some of my friends are three or four months behind.'
‘My son has got nothing yet,' confirmed the mother of another Enniscorthy VC teenager. ‘I knew it would take a while - but we applied in May. He gave them his bank details in October but he is still waiting.'
One County Wexford parent was inspired by the delays to send a letter to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, ‘I would not normally make a complaint but I have had nothing but mis-information from SUSI. We are at the pin of our collar to survive financially.'
It is not uncommon for families to take out loans for thousands of euro from the credit union in the expectation that the grant will come through but so far all they have had is a bill for interest from the lender. Some parents have even threatened to withdrawn their sons or daughters from college altogether.
‘It is a total disaster and it was always going to be a disaster. There were not enough staff assigned to SUSI,' said John Browne on Friday. His office has become a clearing house for the casualties of the system. ‘We had a load of emails about it again today, twenty more queries this morning.'
This is a story threatening to run and run, into the new year.