This week, third level students around the country are beginning their experience of the ‘new normal’, with NUIG, UCD and Trinity College among others beginning their first semester online, and DCU’s first year students undertaking their virtual orientation.
While the move to online learning was a precedent and widely accepted decision on the part of the Irish public, the USI (Union of Students in Ireland) have spoken out against the government’s decision to retain university fees at €3000 per annum despite the absence of on-campus learning.
Ireland currently has the highest fees in the EU, and the refusal of the government to lower the price on education has sparked outrage amongst students and their representative bodies alike. Confusion and anger abound amongst those who are wondering where exactly their fees are going, if not for the use of university facilities and a ‘real’ college experience.
Subsequently, the USI has launched the #EducationForAll campaign which aims to shed light on the exclusion of their rights that many students have felt on the part of the government and Ministry for Education amidst the issue of education during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the #EducationForAll petition, the USI are urging the ministers of education in both the Republic and Northern Ireland to reduce fees and reform the system of third level education in Ireland. Among their demands are an end to the student contribution fee of €3000, a publicly financed and regulated student accommodation strategy, a reform of student supports and a structured plan to reform and support the Irish creative industry in the wake of the pandemic.
Since 2008, student fees have risen from €800 to €3000 per annum, in 2018, which is a 364% increase in the space of 10 years. Yet, for every €1 invested into higher education, €4 is returned into the wider economy. The increasing demand for higher education reflects a society that is eager and willing to learn; investment and reform are crucial and desperately needed in guaranteeing the success of Ireland’s higher education system and future workforce.
Additionally, the USI has encouraged students to share their opinions on the high contribution fee through social media via the #EducationForAll hashtag.
Within 24 hours of launching the campaign, the topic was trending, with students recounting that even with the full SUSI grant covering their fees, some had to work two jobs during the term to pay for accommodation and living expenses and that with many students facing job losses as a result of localised lockdowns the expenses are crippling and highly inaccessible.
The overall sentiment of the campaign is one of immense anger and dissatisfaction at the backwards system, with many students iterating that education should be universally accessible and that currently they are being priced out of this right.
The notoriously high rental costs in Dublin coupled with the recent and late request from Minister Simon Harris that all universities remain on Level 3 restrictions for up to three weeks, has resulted in students being locked into rental agreements without access to the college services that they have moved into rented accommodation to utilise. The students of Ireland are voicing their frustration, and the #EducationForAll campaign will continue in order to ensure that nobody who wishes to access higher education is left by the wayside.
If you wish to sign the USI’s #EducationForAll petition to Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, you can do so at https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/education-for-all-8