The high level of inequality experienced by young immigrants in accessing third level education in Ireland was highlighted again this week by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI).
At a half-day meeting in the capital hosted by the MRCI, a group of young non-EU migrants who have grown up in Ireland voiced their frustration with a system that discriminates against them in requiring payment of full fees charged to foreign students, unlike native Irish and EU citizens.
This is not the first time that this extremely important issue has been highlighted. In 2011 Metro Éireann and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University in the USA held a conference in Dublin to encourage a dialogue on intercultural policing and access to third level education. Various local and international experts, policy makers, access officers of third level access officers as well as young people and their families highlighted ways of bridging the gaps that exist.
Unfortunately, neither the Department of Education nor third level institutions in Ireland have done much to make sure that young migrants from outside the EU are allowed the same access to third level education as many of their friends, despite living here for most of their lives.
Denying this generation the education they deserve also denies them the opportunity to participate fully in the building of a strong and egalitarian Ireland. The implications for this country in future years would certainly be huge.
