Up to 600 students over three years will benefit from the “1916 Bursary Grant” announced in the Budget, with €5,000 granted to each recipient annually to finance their studies.
Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton announced the allocation of €6 million worth of funding to socio-economically disadvantaged students to promote greater diversity in education.
Bruton and Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor have released details today on which institutions will benefit from the grant. In addition to this multi-million euro investment in improving access to higher education, the government has announced plans to spend €300,000 on widening access to initial teacher-training courses.
The 1916 Bursary will target specific groups, such as mature student entrants, students with a disability and members of the travelling community. In particular, 20 per cent of the bursaries will be awarded to lone parents. Individuals can be in receipt of both a 1916 Bursary and a SUSI grant, providing they meet the relevant credentials, and the bursary is available to both full-time and part-time students.
It will be shared among six regional groups of higher education institutions, with two groups in Leinster, encompassing institutions such as Trinity College Dublin (TCD), University College Dublin (UCD) and Maynooth University (NUIG), receiving 40 bursaries each.
Meanwhile, institutions in the North East of the country, and the institutes of technology in Dublin, namely IT Tallaght, Dublin Institute of Technology and IT Blanchardstown, will receive the significantly lower total of 25 bursaries each.
Commenting on the initiative in a press statement, Bruton said: “I’m particularly happy that we are supporting people from disadvantaged backgrounds to become teachers, thus becoming role models for the rest of their community.” The investment will support 70 students in their teacher training and is in line with proposals made in the National Access Plan, as well as the Action Plan for Education.
This plan aims to make Ireland’s education system the best in Europe by 2026 by providing every citizen with equal access to education, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Regarding the funding, Bruton said “ensuring those who come to education at a disadvantage are fully supported is a key priority of mine as Minister. If we want our Education system to be the best, it must be as inclusive as possible.”
The grant can be claimed by student entrants across all disciplines and there are no restrictions imposed based on field of study. However, the undergraduate course must take more than two years to complete and must endow the student with a qualification constituting a Level Six or above on the National Framework of Qualifications. Though the 1916 Bursary can be received in conjunction with the SUSI grant, it may not be used to supplement any additional bursaries or scholarships the student entrant may be in receipt of.
Mitchell O’Connor said of the announcement: “A priority for me as Minister of State for Higher Education is to provide target groups with more opportunities to reach their potential. They broaden the options available to students from the target groups by supporting participation on a part-time basis. Initiatives such as these which have the potential to really help to break the cycle of disadvantage for many communities.”
