A ceremony to acknowledge and celebrate the work of young people involved in the Migrant Education Access (MEA) campaign will take place this Saturday, September 21st, at Trinity College, Dublin.
The MEA campaign, run by The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland, promotes equal access to third level education for children of non-EU migrants. While these young people were born outside of Ireland, many of them have lived in the country for several years, attending secondary and even national schools here. The MEA initiative has highlighted the difficulties facing these young people in attaining Irish citizenship and progressing to third level education in Ireland.
The event this Saturday celebrates the implementation of one of the group’s key recommendations. The recent changes introduced by Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, mean that students legally living in Ireland, who have Irish or EU citizenship, will only pay the standard registration fee, €2,500, similar to their Irish-born counterparts. Migrant students who become Irish citizens during their third level education will now be able to change their fee status. They will no longer have to continue paying the full tuition fees applied to non-EU nationals; instead such students will now be eligible for the free fees initiative, as well as higher education grants.
While these achievements are a step in the right direction for migrant students, those who have not yet achieved Irish citizenship must still pay full tuition fees, despite having lived in Ireland for several years. The issue of long-term residency and access to third level education remains an important factor in the MEA campaign.
Many children of immigrants are eager to progress to third level, but are unable to do so due to high tuition fees and difficulties in obtaining citizenship. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland continues to campaign for greater equality in access to third level education, especially for students who have not yet secured Irish or EU citizenship.
The MEA campaigners also recommend that more information be provided to students at secondary school level regarding the issues facing migrant children as they enter higher education or the workforce in Ireland. The group advocates greater clarity regarding the status of migrants in third level education and greater transparency in the process of securing Irish citizenship.
Equal access to higher education would provide an opportunity for these young people to integrate and progress in Irish society, while also bringing further skills and greater diversity to Ireland’s workforce.
The event will take place at 2pm on Saturday in Room 3074 of the Arts Block. It will include a screening of a short film made by the Migrant Education Access group and an awards ceremony to recognise the work and commitment of the campaign’s young leaders. President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Joe O’Connor, will also be present at the ceremony to give a short speech and present certificates.
