TEENS of migrant backgrounds were among the 56,000 students who received their Leaving Certificate results last month.Chiadika Uzor, originally from Nigeria and living in Ireland since 2006, had particular cause for delight after attaining a highly impressive 535 points.
Uzor, who attended St Dominic’s College in Cabra, north Dublin, said she was pleased with her performance despite just missing out on the points tally for medicine.
“It’s still something I really want to do so I’m just finding other ways to get it,” she reflected.
Her plan is to take up a place on the foundation course for young adults through the Trinity College Access Programme. As part of this year-long course, students can choose from two broad areas of study, arts and social sciences or science, and compete for a place on a college degree programme.
Uzor says that this could open the door to the highly competitive medical degree course, if she works extremely hard.
The 18-year-old, who sees herself as both Nigerian and Irish, said the key to a successful Leaving Certificate lies in “keeping the balance” between study and hobbies.
She recommended sport as a way to keeping mentally and physically healthy during such a tough year.
While there was joy for many students of migrant background, the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) drew attention to the predicament of some students living in Ireland for years but who do not have access to so-called ‘free fees’.
According to the organisation, non-Irish children who travelled to Ireland to join their parents are often given residency stamps that mark them as foreign students or foreign workers.
This process happens at age 16 when they must have their own residency stamp, and means they are subject to fees significantly higher than the classmates they schooled with.
In response to this situation, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has asked department officials to review the financial difficulties faced by these families.
