Third-level education at breaking point, warns unions

Students’ leaders yesterday warned third-level education was “at breaking point and neither parents nor students can take any more”.

The Union of Students in Ireland called on the Government and education minister Ruairi Quinn to keep the costs of college “at the forefront of their minds” when drafting the October budget.

They were reacting to the Irish League of Credit Unions’ 2013 Third Level Education Survey which showed eight-in-10 parents are supporting their children with college-related expenses.

A reported 42% of parents use their savings to fund third-level education while 25% borrow from their local credit union to meet the €421 per month spend on average per student.

Furthermore, 66% of college students have to work to fund their education — up from 55% in 2011.

Students are working an average of 18.5 hours per week with 27% of male students and 17% of female students skipping lectures to do so.

Joe O’Connor, president of the Union of Students in Ireland, said: “Students are being forced to work lengthy hours in low-paid part-time jobs to get themselves through college, in many cases with a negative effect on their study time and academic output.

“The average student maintenance grant, at €84 per week, does not even cover rental costs alone, according to the figures published in the study. And the grant does not compare favourably to the lowest rate of jobseeker’s allowance in this country, at €100 per week.”

Mr O’Connor said any further increases in the costs of college “will merely serve to further attack struggling families already crippled by wider recessionary measures”.

Meanwhile, with the 56,000-plus Leaving Certificate students due to receive college offers next week, Sinn Féin’s Seán Crowe said: “The sad reality is that many of them will not be able to take up the offer and many more will drop out due to purely financial difficulties.

“The Susi system that processes the grants has been a disaster from start to finish with thousands of students supposed to live on fresh air while waiting for their grant to be processed. This is putting added pressure on already struggling students and their families who are desperately trying to support them.”

The situation, he claimed, made a mockery of the concept of free and accessible education.

“The Labour Party was elected on a promise not to increase third level fees but that was broken as soon as they entered government,” he said.

He urged the Government to tackle practical costs and not just pay “lip service” to the supports needed by college students.

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