AONTAS welcomes the Student Support Bill
6 Feb 2008 04:46 PM
AONTAS the National Adult Learning Organisation today welcomed the Student Support Bill which was launched yesterday (February 5th) by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin. AONTAS particularly supports the move to streamline the administrative procedures for the management of the student grant awarding process.
AONTAS lobbies for better financial supports for Irelands 300,000 adult learners. In January 2007, AONTAS launched the 'Demand Your Right to Learn' campaign. Under this campaign AONTAS made 10 key demands, asking the government of Ireland to improve funding, structures and supports for adult learners. Although the development of a unified system of student support was not a key priority for the campaign AONTAS believes this move will be of great benefit to all adult learners engaging in further and higher education.
By simplifying the range of different grants and awarding authorities which students must currently negotiate in order to apply for a grant, information will be more accessible and the whole process of obtaining funding will be much simpler. Although there are several financial assistance schemes available in Ireland to help learners to progress through further and higher education the application process for each of the grants can be very challenging. "Adult learners not only have to pick a course, they also have to check that their chosen course and college is approved for a maintenance grant by finding out what scheme applies to their chosen course. On top of all this they then have the added task of finding out where they should submit their grant application"
In 2007 AONTAS received 3485 queries from adult learners looking for advice and support. A massive 24% of these queries were from learners looking for information and clarity on how to access funding. Jennifer Gunning, Information Officer in AONTAS, said "This signifies that there is a need to make the current information available more comprehensible. Currently learners, who are pursuing a Degree or a Post-Graduate course, have to apply to their local authority, whereas if they are a Trainee, pursuing a Post Leaving Cert (PLCs), Cert or Diploma, they should apply to their Vocational Education Committee (VEC). Therefore finding the administrator of a particular grant just adds to the task list and obstacles that face adult learners."
ENDS
Note To Editors:
AONTAS
AONTAS is the National Adult Learning Organisation. It is a non-government membership organisation, established in 1969. Its mission is to ensure that every adult in Ireland has access to appropriate and affordable learning opportunities throughout their lives, thus enabling them to contribute to and participate in the economic, social, civic and cultural development of Irish society. AONTAS is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It has over 600 members, ranging from statutory providers of adult education, such as VECs and third level institutions, to voluntary providers of community education, to individual adult learners and those with a general interest in adult education. The role of AONTAS is to work towards improving the adult education sector in Ireland through policy development, promoting the benefits of adult education and research.
Further information
For further information, please contact Jennifer Gunning - AONTAS Information
jgunning@aontas.com
Phone: 01-4068220
