Covid-19: Students frustrated at missing out on £500 help
By Michael Sheils McNamee
image captionStudents in full-time education in Northern Ireland are to receive £500
Some students in Northern Ireland have expressed frustration at missing out on a newly-announced support payment.
On Thursday, Economy Minister Diane Dodds said £500 would be given to students due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Almost 40,000 students in universities and further education colleges are set to benefit from the money.
But part-time students and non-EU students based in Northern Ireland look set to miss out.
Northern Ireland students in other regions of the UK and the Republic of Ireland are also not eligible and Deputy First Minister Michelle O Neill has raised that issue with the Department for the Economy, which is issuing the payments.
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Students set to receive £500 Covid payment Posted: 3:50 pm February 4, 2021
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Almost 40,000 students studying in Northern Ireland will receive a £500 Covid Disruption Payment, Economy Minister Diane Dodds announced today.
Every student from the UK or EU currently enrolled on a full-time higher education course in Northern Ireland will receive the one-off discretionary payment, which is in recognition of the disruption they have suffered as a result of the pandemic.
The initiative is part of a wider financial support package of £37.7million for higher education agreed by the Executive. This amount includes the £10.4million announced earlier this week.
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The Minister said: “I am acutely aware that students in local higher education institutions have experienced significant disruption since the onset of the pandemic and that this continues to have an impact.
Concerns raised about parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland
Economy Minister writes to the UK government
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Economy Minister Diane Dodds has called for urgent action from the UK Government on parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland.
The Minister said: “We are seeing significant confusion in the e-commerce market, both from businesses and consumers. This can be detrimental for consumers and mean that they may be more vulnerable to scams or have less choice in price and range of goods.
“To date, my officials and The Consumer Council have been responding to queries on this. The Consumer Council has also published helpful frequently asked questions for consumers.
University Chief tells Derry councillors that 6,000 students at Magee is the upper limit
While the New Decade, New Approach document commits to 10,000 students at Magee the Vice Chancellor says 6,000 is the ambition under the current funding model
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The Vice Chancellor at Ulster University (UU) has told Derry councillors that under the current funding model it will not be possible to deliver the long-promised target of 10,000 students at the Magee campus.
This week UU confirmed that the School of Health Sciences undergraduate programmes will relocate to its Magee campus in Derry from September 2022.
The transfer will bring over 800 undergraduate students to the Magee campus.
BBC News
By Robbie Meredith
Published
media captionPeter Weir said pupils grades will be assessed on a broad portfolio of evidence .
Schools in Northern Ireland will calculate GCSE, AS and A-Level grades to be awarded to their pupils in 2021.
The NI exams board CCEA will then review how schools award grades to ensure fairness and consistency .
The arrangements to award pupils their qualifications have been outlined by Education Minister Peter Weir.
However, there is still uncertainty for pupils in year 11 and year 13 taking GCSE modules and AS Levels.
Pupils in year 11 taking GCSE units or modules will not be awarded grades this summer.