Protest For A Grant That Makes A Differnce!

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday February 26, 2002 14:16 by James Redmond. antrophe at hotmail dot com

Students Unite and Fight! Build the grants demo!

Through the efforts of a number of left-wing student union councillors, a motion was passed by UCD’s Student Council sometime ago calling for a demonstration to take place outside the department of education. The date and time of the demo have now been set, it is due to take place at 2pm, March 7th.

In the run up to the meeting of the EU leaders in Brussels at the end of December, students across Europe took to the streets to protest against cut backs in education, privatisation, inadequate grants, the introduction of tution fees and increased links with industry. In contrast, In Ireland, for the past year the Union of Students of Ireland, the national representative of students have more or less remained silent over the issue of grants and government under-funding of education despite receiving £50,000 in subs from UCD alone this year. The only media attention garnerd by USI was their response to the financial difficulties experienced by USIT NOW. The extent of their grants campaign has been to issue a ‘Pat the Politicain’ leaflet with a picture of a comical piss-take gombeen politician. The leaflet advises students to make their voices heard by asking their local election candidates ‘what are is your priority and if it’s not education, then why is’nt it?’

Last year USI launched an extensive and active grants campaign. The campaign saw the largest mobilisation of students in the state and resulted in a £5 increase in the standard grant and the introduction of an extra top up grant for students from a background where both parents are on social welfare. The suspension of this campaign in an election year, while it was only gaining momentum and increased support from Irish students is evident of the regressive and redundant politics of the USI leadership. It is only through the initiative of individual students at a grass roots level that there is any sign of genuine action on the grants issue this year.

The current maximum maintenance grant of £49 per week for students living away from home is an insult to students across the country. The grant has more or less remained static while the cost of student accomadation has soared. Last years increase of 5% is actually less than inflation. Over the last three years rents have almost doubled in parts of the country while the grant has only increased by 9%. In the business and economics classes of secondary school we are always told that investment in education is an investment in the future of the economy, as it results in a highly skilled workforce contributing to economic growth. The government seems more than content to satisy the Irish Bussiness Employers Congress by keeping students in poverty, forcing them out to work at minimum wage to the benefit of business.

£49 per week will not cover the basic costs of attending college such as rent, food, course materials and travel - that is if you are lucky enough to receive £49 per week. Students living within 15 miles of college are entitled to less than £20 per week while the majority of students are not in receipt of a grant at all. There is a real need to increase the grant across the board and to increase income thresholds so that more students qualify for a grant in the first place.

The government have always fobbed off student demands for an increased grant with claims that funds are not avalible. Now the years of the celtic tiger have left the government coffers bursting at the seams, they still refuse to increase the grant.

Experience has shown that the government do not commit to extra spending unless a serious campaign is mounted. The student nurses mounted a persistent campaign to extend free fees to student nurses. This campaign lasted several months and consisted of lobbying, protests, pickets, demonstrations, marches and occupations. It soon became clear to the politicians that the student nurses were not going to go away. The government finally were forced to agree to spend £15 million a year to extend free fees to student nurses.

There are increasing signs that education in Ireland is in for something of a battering in the coming years. Attempts to introduce benchmarking in secondary schools, the refusal to increase the grant, the increased use of the Public Private Partnerships to replace traditional public funding of education, the publication of government sponsored reports recommending the re-introduction of tution fees and increased links with industry betray an agenda clearly in line with GATS and the Bologna Declaation.

As students, we must act now and fight for an accecsible, decent publically funded education system for all.

BUILD FOR THE GRANTS DEMO IN YOUR COLLEGE OR SCHOOL.
2PM, MARCH 7TH, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.