Maynooth Students’ Union (MSU) calls on Kildare North Oireachtas members to sign up to the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Education for All pledge
Maynooth Students’ Union (MSU) calls on Kildare North Oireachtas members to sign up to the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Education for All pledge which is focused on improving access to Higher Education and calls for the issue of Higher Education accessibility to be made a public policy priority in 2021.
The call is a part of a national USI campaign week, seeking to draw government action on the issues faced by the Higher Education sector, including: a funding crisis, soaring rents, poor working conditions for academic staff, inadequate student supports, and the highest fees in the EU.
MSU President Kelly Rennick said: “For years students have screamed at the gates of the government to take action on this issue but to little or no avail. We have also written to our local representatives on numerous occasions, but Higher Education funding and access has not been given the attention that it deserves and needs. That is why today, we are asking public representatives to step up to the plate and take action. Right now, students in Maynooth pay the highest fees in the European Union, some of the most expensive rents in western Europe, are taught in a system starved of funding and seriously under-resourced with a financial support system that hasn’t recovered from the last economic recession. SUSI grant rates have not increased for many years while rents in North Kildare have skyrocketed.”.
MSU Vice President Education Julian Nagi added: “In recent years here in Maynooth, students have had to protest over issues such as; on campus rent increases; postgraduate fee increases; accommodation shortages; and student social space shortages. All of those issues are a completely foreseeable consequence of the intentional underfunding of Higher Education by the Government. The time is nigh for us to take real, tangible action to remedy those problems and deliver the top quality Higher Education system Ireland deserves.”.
For media contacts:
MSU President Kelly Rennick- president@msu.ie
MSU Vice President Education Julian Nagi- education@msu.ie