Students "cannot be expected to pay" full fees when many higher education institutes are moving to online only learning due to the impact of the coronavirus.
This is the view of Labour Galway City West councillor Niall McNelis, who was speaking following revelations that students will be expected to pay the full cost of €3,000 in fees even though in many cases they will be forced to learn from home with infrequent access to campus.
“Hard pressed students and their families cannot be expected to pay the full time cost of third level fees when they will have less than part-time access to facilities," said the former Mayor. "How are students expected to make ends meet when many have already taken a severe financial hit due to the Covid crisis, with many unable to avail of seasonal summer work in bars, restaurants, and the tourism industry?"
Students cannot be 'forced to bear the brunt'
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Third level institutions have claimed the need to charge the full fees in order to meet staffing costs. Cllr McNelis said this highlights how "chronically underfunded" they are. However he said, "students and their families cannot be forced to bear the brunt".
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science, Simon Harris, said he would like to see fees addressed during his tenure, but Cllr McNelis pointed out that this 'sometime in the future' approach "will not alleviate the financial pressure on students".
As a result, Cllr McNelis is calling on the Minister to "immediately increase" SUSI grants to support students and families who have had a significant reduction in their income this year, and also to bring forward the payment dates for the grants to early September.
"The Programme for Government commits to reviewing SUSI eligibility and adjacency rates," he said. "The Minister needs to do that as soon as practically possible."
