Finances a big problem for mature students

Mature students are more likely than their younger counterparts to be affected by financial concerns, a Union of Students in Ireland report on adult education has concluded.

The students want to hold Minister for Education, Micheal Martin to Fianna Fail's pre-election promises on enhanced grants for financially-strapped mature students. The students say Mr Martin is also bound by commitments made in Fianna Fail's Third Level Education Position Paper, issued just two months before the last election, which suggested that the grant system should make special provision for mature students who are parents.

The union argues that the current differentiation by the State between part-time and full-time students is unjustifiable and that part time students whose income would qualify them for a maintenance grant should also be entitled to free fees. They say that the commitment displayed by many part-time students to their courses and the number of lectures they attend is often comparable to that of students classed as full-time.

In arguing that mature students are more sensitive to financial factors than students of school-leaving age, USI point to the effect of the introduction of tuition fees in Britain. The union says this has had "a marked and disproportionate impact" on participation by mature students. The latest UCAS figures suggest that the number of applicants to British colleges aged 25 years and over is down by 10 per cent, while the number of students under 21 was only dropped by 0.5 per cent. The union says a £6 million scheme to promote part-time study in Scotland, which included financial support for students, resulted in an 10 per cent increase in the number of part-time students in universities there.

The student's arguments are part of a response to the Government's Green Paper, Adult Education in an Era of Lifelong Learning.

The USI paper argues that the State has "a moral and economic imperative" to promote the concept of lifelong learning. It quotes OECD figures which suggest that on average, one in five of new entrants to universities in developed countries are aged 26 years or over. The union claims the corresponding figure for Ireland is two per cent. The document says that while an average of 36.8 per cent of people participating in non-university third-level education in other OECD countries are 26 or over, the corresponding Irish figure is 1.1 per cent.

The report contrasts mature students' participation in third level education with their representation in Post Leaving Cert courses. Over one quarter of students in PLC courses are over 21 years of age. USI say this is because the main barrier to mature students' participation - the cost of accommodation in large towns and cities - is removed by the fact that PLCs are available in the students' locality. Mature students are also attracted to PLC courses by the fact that they last only one year, the report says.

The students' document endorses the recommendation of the Green Paper that universities and institutes of technology should introduce a system of mature student quotas in as many faculties as feasible. USI say the numbers of mature students should be increased to more than 16 per cent of the overall student population by 2010.

The report criticises the "unique" emphasis the Irish system places on "a continuing uninterrupted education from primary school to third level.

"If for whatever reason a student steps out of the formal education process for any length of time, it is very difficult for them to return", the document concludes.