Writing by Conor Thompson, AONTAS Policy Officer
Shortly before Christmas, Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, announced a significant increase in financial support for university students through the 1916 Bursary.
Although this is a welcome change, with the current pressures on families relating to childcare and rent costs among others, there is still not enough support available to make university a realistic option for many people from working-class backgrounds and under-resourced communities.
The 1916 Bursary is a student scholarship worth up to €5,000 per year. It is an add-on to the SUSI grant, which offers support to access third-level education. The 1916 Bursary is designed to help university students from communities that are underrepresented in universities in Ireland. People can apply for it if they experience social and financial barriers that make it difficult to get into and stay in university. This is essential in making university more accessible to people who are not from middle-class or affluent families and backgrounds.
Research shows that the 1916 Bursary can have a transformative impact on the students who receive it. Over 96% of people surveyed believe that they can attend and remain in college because of this Bursary. Over 93% believe that the bursary helps them to focus more on their studies. Almost 99% believe that the bursary allowed them to afford things that supported their studies, including childcare, internet, travel, food, accommodation. And over 96% said they have less financial stress because of the bursary.
The bursary offers three different amounts of money called “tiers”. A student will get awarded a “tier” based on their application and the amount of funding the university has available. Bursaries range up to €5,000.
Minister Harris recently announced that 600 students will get scholarships for Tier 1 and Tier 2, an increase of 226 students on last year. However, there is a huge demand for this funding.
Research carried out by College Connect found that between 2017 and 2022 for universities in their initiative - Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), Dublin City University (DCU), and Maynooth University (MU) - there were 2,082 applicants for the bursary, but only 379 students received it.
Michelle McGoldrick (pictured above with Minister Simon Harris) is a student in Social Studies at Maynooth University, an AONTAS member, and an advocate for adult learning.
She feels the increases don’t go far enough and there is a lack of clarity around who qualifies for the bursary.
“If you meet the criteria to qualify for the 1916 Bursary,” she says, “you should get it.”
She would like to see a “rights-based approach” towards financially supporting students from under-resourced communities in universities, including the right to education and the right to equality.
Michelle says that “making the full 1916 Bursary a rights-based payment for everyone that meets the criteria is what will make a real difference and is what will get more people from underrepresented groups back into education.”
Money and income can dictate how likely it is that people get into university in Ireland. Students from wealthier backgrounds are more likely to have a history of people in their family going to university, as well as being more likely to access more one-to-one teaching, smaller class sizes, and private or “feeder” schools, among other advantages. They are also more likely to be able to cope with issues like the high costs of rent and transport.
The Higher Education Authority have found that in universities across Ireland, “there are 4.9 students from disadvantaged areas to every 10 students from affluent areas.” According to a recent piece in the Irish Times, college participation from DEIS schools is still significantly lower than other schools, a problem they call the “class gap.”
Michelle also says that improvements could be made in how and when the 1916 Bursary is distributed. Currently, the applicants find out if they have been awarded the bursary mid-way through their first year of university. This can cause a lot of financial stress.
“People are making life-changing decisions going back to college,” Michelle says, “especially those who are parenting alone and have families to look after and bills to pay. You need to know in advance what you are going to have to live off and be able to plan ahead.”
The recently announced expansion of the 1916 Bursary is a step in the right direction. However, as Michelle points out we are currently “supporting the minority and not the majority” of people from under-resourced communities. More needs to be done to address the broader issues of class inequality in Irish society. A further expansion and revision of the 1916 Bursary would be a positive move towards this.
Find out more about the 1916 Bursary here.