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The Students’ Union of Ireland (USI) has called for an immediate € 500 reduction in student college fees and many classes will be held remotely.
Yesterday, Education Minister Norma Foley said tertiary universities will be able to charge their students the full € 3,000 in contribution fees, even if they severely restrict access to campus and force them to stay home.
USI President Lorna Fitzpatrick says the state should cover the cost of reducing the student contribution fee if a large number of courses are delivered remotely: “The immediate reduction in the student contribution fee , we would ask the State to cover that.
“The cost is approximately 39 million and, as I say, it would have to be part of a larger plan around adequate financing of the sector.”
We still don’t know if people are going to have significant costs in terms of accommodation and other things like that, because their schedules for the vast majority have not yet been published.
Fitzpatrick says that many students are still not sure how long they will need to be on campus: “The vast majority of students don’t realize it or don’t understand right now, because institutions have not been clear with them on how regularly it is expected. that are on campus.
“So we still don’t know if people are going to have significant costs in terms of accommodation and other things like that, because their schedules, for the vast majority, have not yet been published.”
The Opposition had asked Minister Foley to confirm that a reduced fee would be applied in relation to “blended learning”, however, she confirmed yesterday that with the third tier sector in financial crisis, the reductions would not apply.
“Any determination on the level of fees to be charged is a matter for each institution according to its own operating conditions and particular circumstances to ensure the provision of education for students through this pandemic,” he said according to the Irish Examiner.
Under the current free fee scheme, the treasury provides funds for the tuition costs of eligible college students, and students pay a student contribution or € 3,000 enrollment fee to universities.
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