Rising costs acting as barrier to education for students

A generation of young people will not reach their potential unless the Government takes action to create equal access to education, the President of NUI Galway Students’ Union has warned.

This comes following comments last week from the Minister for Education Joe McHugh that those who could not afford the rising costs of third level accommodation should consider options “at a regional level”.

However, a breakdown of where grant-assisted students from County Galway go to college, released to the Connacht Tribune, shows that almost 70% are already going to institutions such as NUI Galway, GMIT, Galway Technical Institute and Galway Community College.

A further 18% look to the wider Western region, with most opting for Athlone IT, followed by the University of Limerick, Limerick IT, Mary Immaculate College in Limerick and IT Sligo.

Just 13% of Galway students are going further afield to places like UCD, Trinity College and DCU.

NUIG’s Students’ Union President Clare Austick said this indicated that students are already opting for colleges closer to home and commuting – and meant that people were selecting courses based on what they could afford, rather than what they wanted to do.

“That is another barrier to education. Access to education is being treated as a privilege, which it’s not – education is a right, not a privilege,” she said.

“The Minster should not be asking students to come up with the solution to a problem that the Government has created,” added Ms Austick.

Rising accommodation costs faced by Galway students was the greatest barrier, said Ms Austick – with the lack of space driving up prices and putting students and parents to the pin of their collar to afford it.

The Minister with responsibility for Higher Education, Milltown-native Mary Mitchell O’Connor, suggested that students should use their grant to cover the rising costs of accommodation.

Figures obtained by this newspaper show that just over 5,000 Galway students are in receipt of a grant. In total, approximately 13,000 Galway students are enrolled in full-time and part-time courses at third-level institutes.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app

The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City  and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.