‘Cross-border students must be protected’ – Fearon | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

‘Cross-border students must be protected’ – Fearon

South Armagh MLA Megan Fearon has called for clarity for cross-border students in light of the recent EU referendum vote.

fearon21“A recent joint report on student mobility by the relevant Departments both North and South show clearly that there is significant student cross border mobility at present,” she told Newry Times.

“1745 full-time undergraduate applicants in 2013/14 to Higher Education Institutions in the north were from the south, while 1375 of the student applicants to Higher Education Institutions in the south were from the north.

“This result could have a serious impact for students from the north and Britain, who could be charged higher fees to attend third level in this jurisdiction.

“The treatment of students from the north as ‘international students’ for the purposes of third level fees would be unacceptable and is yet another clear reason for a border poll to be carried out as soon as is practicable.

Article continues below:

July 2016The local MLA continued, “It is clear that ‘Brexit’ has the potential to have a huge impact on the higher education sector in Ireland, north and south. For example, under the Horizon 2020 Strategy, a total of €89.2 million was raised by north-south research collaborations across 89 separate projects.

“Around 40% of the 1100 Irish students who take up traineeships during their degree go to either the north or Britain for their traineeships and placements.

“While I am aware that any changes may be a number of years down the line, it is clear that the ongoing uncertainty will cause significant anxiety for parents, students and staff alike.

Fearon added, “I am calling on the Education Ministers north and south to outline the steps they intend to take to ensure that students north and south are protected.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=56589

Posted by on Jul 6 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply







Find us on Facebook

Log in | Designed by Gabfire themes