The development comes as a relief to the Ukrainian student community, which had concerns about potential barriers to pursuing their higher education aspirations due to a lack of financial assistance.
The development comes as a relief to the Ukrainian student community, which had concerns about potential barriers to pursuing their higher education aspirations due to a lack of financial assistance.
Ireland Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has confirmed that Ukrainian students embarking on their college journey in Ireland next month will continue to benefit from fee and grant support.
The development comes as a relief to the Ukrainian student community, which had concerns about potential barriers to pursuing their higher education aspirations due to a lack of financial assistance, as per a report from the Independent.ie.
Harris, along with his colleagues in the government and various higher-education institutions, has worked to ensure that the arrangements put in place last year remain in effect.
These arrangements incorporated the utilization of Erasmus+ funding to offer grants to Ukrainian students, effectively extending this vital support to the upcoming academic year.
Addressing the pressing concerns of Ukrainian students, a spokesperson for Harris emphasized the ongoing collaborative efforts to secure these critical fees and grant supports for the incoming cohort.
The confirmation of continued financial assistance is especially crucial for Ukrainian students who recently received offers through the Central Applications Office process, particularly those who were assessed under CAO Round Zero based on criteria beyond the traditional Leaving Certificate results.
With the imminent deadline for offer acceptance, many students like Maksym Savchenko, an 18-year-old Ukrainian residing in Ballybunion, Co Kerry, have expressed their inability to proceed without a clear commitment to financial backing.
Maksym, who has received an offer for an engineering program at the University of Limerick, highlighted the necessity of grant support to enable him to pursue his higher education aspirations.
Last year, Ukrainian students were classified as Irish/EU students for fee purposes, granting them eligibility for the Susi grant scheme. This scheme not only provided means-tested financial aid but also covered tuition fees for most grant recipients.
However, a change in official policy this year introduced a residency requirement, necessitating Ukrainian students to have a three-year residency in Ireland to qualify for these supports.
Given that Ukrainian refugees began arriving in Ireland as recently as February 2022, this requirement posed a significant hurdle.
With over 650 Ukrainian students in Ireland having registered to undertake their remote Leaving Certificate equivalent examinations in June, and numerous others having already completed the traditional Leaving Certificate, anticipation for CAO Round 1 offers on Aug. 30 is palpable.
Presently, Ireland is hosting more than 32,000 international students who are taking advantage of the diverse array of courses offered, according to the Irish Universities Association.
All of Ireland’s universities hold positions within the top 3 percent of global institutions, with numerous research disciplines ranking in the top 1 percent globally, it added.
