Irish Dental Students To Receive Grants Again
Thirty nine students who were informed that their funding would stop have now been reassured that they will receive grants for their courses; students from Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork were informed by Student Universal Support Ireland that their course did not qualify for funding.
The letter sent to the thirty nine students stated that the course, which leads to an award at level 7 of the National Framework for Qualifications, did not qualify for funding because level 7 diplomas were sometimes not considered to be ‘major awards’.
Funding has now been confirmed for the students affected by the Department of Education.
June Nunn, head of the school of dental science at TrinityCollege, said that students were not informed of the decision to suspend funding until it was too late and students were left confused and anxious about how they were going to pay for university life.
The decision affected first and second year students on the dental nursing and dental hygiene diplomas at the two universities.
The issue was debated by students after a mother rang into a student radio show raising concerns that her daughter and some of her classmates would have to give up their studies because they could not afford to pay the fees without the grant.
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