Local authorities and VECs vie to run student grants system

THE country’s local authorities and Vocational Education Committees (VECs) are battling it out to have sole responsibility for the administration of the €200 million student grants scheme.

Currently, 32 city and county VEC’s handle around two-thirds of the 56,000 grants payable under four different schemes to third level students.

The scheme also constitutes a significant element of the duties of city and county councils.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin announced last month she would be appointing a single agency to run a more flexible and efficient grants system from next year. Both sides have made submissions.

She is expected to bring proposals with her choice of agency to cabinet shortly, along with details of a student support bill to give statutory backing to her plans for a more dependable scheme.

The Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) - the VECs’ umbrella organisation - made its submission in recent weeks and is hopeful that the sector will be given responsibility.

“There have been very complex negotiations extending over a wide area to meet the Department of Education’s requirements, and we admire the minister’s commitment to implement a process which will be more user-friendly,” said IVEA general secretary Michael Moriarty.

He said there would be a very extensive overhaul of operational procedures to provide the necessary service.

The Office for Local Authority Management, which assists the County and City Managers’ Association presented a case on behalf of city and county councils.

Despite the enthusiasm of both sides, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) was disappointed that the minister did not transfer responsibility for grants to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

Student leaders believe the department’s experience handling means-tested applications and its better efficiency at making payments would be more suited to the operation of the system.

The USI complained that inconsistencies across the various local authorities and VECs led to some students waiting until the second term before receiving their first grant payment, causing major financial difficulties and forcing students to work long hours at the expense of their studies.

Under Ms Hanafin’s proposed new payment system, students who apply before the end of May each year would receive a decision within three weeks and collect their grant cheques within a month of the start of the college term. An appeals process is also planned for those whose grant application is rejected.