Students forced into poverty by cost-of-living crisis

Students are being forced into poverty by the cost-of-living crisis according to SDLP Jobs and Economy spokesperson, Sinéad McLaughlin MLA.

He comments followed the recent release of a report by the national union for students in Northern Ireland, NUS-USI, entitled ‘The Cost of Survival’,which outlined the scale of the economic crisis facing students in further and higher education.

Ms McLaughlin said: "Our further and higher education institutions are at the heart of improving the economic performance of the North through developing the higher skills base that we need to succeed. 

"The utterly unfit for purpose system of student finance and the pressures young people are facing as a result are leading many to consider pausing or leaving their studies, potentially depriving us of their skills and contributions. 

“This report makes crystal clear how students are being forced into poverty across Northern Ireland and highlights the particular challenges of students in further education, with apprentices being forced to survive on a minimum wage which comes to just £4.81 per hour.

“The devastating shortcomings of this system have been exacerbated by the current cost-of-living emergency. I regularly hear from students who are really struggling to make ends meet and pay for the essentials, many of whom also have specific course costs like equipment, textbooks and other hidden charges throughout their time in education. Moreover, many students living in private rented accommodation will have had to divide the £600 energy support grant between the household, which often may consist of four or five individuals," said Ms McLaughlin.

Ms McLaughlin added that the plight faced by students must be tackled by a new Executive.

The Foyle MLA said: "The plight faced by students must be tackled in a new Executive, with locally accountable Ministers taking decisions in their interests. We should be able to put these concerns on a Minister’s desk and hold them accountable for delivery on student demands, yet the DUP boycott has made that impossible. In the absence of devolution, I will be writing to the Secretary of State to ask how the results of this report will be acted upon.”