Ulster Unionist Party Economy spokesperson, John Stewart MLA, has called on the Economy and Education Ministers to work collaboratively with Queen`s University and Ulster University to raise the number of places available for students from Northern Ireland.
John Stewart MLA said:
“Given the huge uncertainty for many A-level students from Northern Ireland created by last week`s results, it is now more important than ever that we do what we can to support them.
“We could assist them by raising the cap on the number of places at our local universities for Northern Ireland students. Not only would this be direct support for local students, but it could be a boost to the local economy in the future. Thousands of our students travel to mainland UK to study every year and many never return to make Northern Ireland their permanent home, to work and raise their families. This could be an opportunity to change that. I am calling on the Economy Minister to work with the Education and Finance Ministers to address this on a collaborative basis with Queen`s University and Ulster University.
“Given the unilateral actions of the Scottish Government to support Scottish students, giving them what could be seen as an unfair advantage over their Northern Irish, Welsh and English counterparts, we should seek to level up the playing field to give our own students the opportunity to study at Queen`s University and Ulster University.”