Mature Students and Grant Cuts

minusorange

Hi, this is a copy of an email I received today. Please read, and if you want, you can sign the petition by clicking on the web link below.

To all mature students, course co-ordinators and concerned parties,
I am writing this letter on behalf of the Galway City Access students. We are currently campaigning to stop the recent proposals in Budget 2010, in which mature students will no longer be eligable for the BTEA and the maintenance grant. Many of us who started the Access programme in September 2009, did so in the belief that these financial supports would be available to us when we began our full time studies. We now find ourselves in a very difficult situation, indeed many students are of the opinion it will be financially impossible for them to commit to a full time programme surviving on just the BTEA or the maintenance grant, but not both, as existing full time students are.
As part of our campaign we have set up a webpage: www.grants4maturestudents.webs.com and a facebook page: grants for mature students, both these have a link to our online petition. In addition we have been in contact with our fellow Access students in Carraroe, Ballinasle and Tullamore. We have also been in contact with politicans, attended a debate in the Senate and met with Green Party Senator Niall O Brolchain; he believes we have a very good case and is willing to help us.
What we are now doing is seeking the support of all mature students around the country; especially those that will be effected by this 100% cut in maintenance payments next year. We need each individual institution to highlight this situation. Would you please be able to circulate this email to all students affected by the cuts, whether they be access students or not. We would really appreciate your help with this issue, as key to having this proposal changed is highlighting the difficulties it will cause to all mature students starting in 2010 and those that were not eligable last year for the BTEA but would have been next September.
Please contact us on www.grants4maturestudents.webs.com and/or facebook 'grants for mature students'. Also please feel free to email us on grants4maturestudents@gmail.com. We would appreciate any suggestions or updates on how you think we should proceed.
Thankyou so much for your time, we look forward to hearing from you.
Jacky Joyce
(on behalf of NUIG Galway City Access Students 09/10)

paky

Since when is the back to education allowance to be abolished?

IM0

paky wrote: »

Since when is the back to education allowance to be abolished?

it isnt, but whats being abolished is the entitlement to both the BTEA and the Maintenance Grant, now you can only have one or the other not both, as far as Im aware it doesnt affect students who have been in college before 2009 college year.


Also 10 million is hardly the difference between the shortfall in the ecomomy is it. thats all they are saving! 7000 x 1500/2000 mature students, who are more likely to have kids and mortgages and wont be able to get PT work, not that they would have the time :eek:

MrsMiaWallace

http://www.petitions.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188&Itemid=9&latestnews=latest#detail

actual petition link