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Ógra students campaign against EMA cut

THE right of working-class young people to higher education is in jeopardy if moves to axe the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
This is the reality if Assembly Minister for Employment and Learning David Kennedy follows the example of the Tory government in Westminster and abolishes the EMA, which is a crucial lifeline to many students.
In response, Ógra Shinn Féin and Sinn Féin have launched a campaign to stop the minister cutting the EMA. Campaigners have already taken to the streets in Derry, Tyrone, and elsewhere.
Ógra has also taken part in a demonstration with many hundreds in Derry against the Tory-inspired axe.
Ulster Unionist David Kennedy has not yet committed to retaining EMA and this has naturally increased the level of unease and uncertainty among students. This is particularly given the situation in England, where the Tory Government has cut the EMA and trebled fees up to £9,000 a year.
The responsibility for ensuring this doesn’t happen in the Six Counties, lies squarely in David Kennedy’s hands.
Ógra spokesperson Laura Gildernew said:
“Axing the EMA will disproportionally and negatively affect working-class students from pursuing higher education.
“We are committed to campaigning to ensure that the EMA continues and that young people, particularly those most in need, are supported and facilitated all the way in pursuing higher education.’
“EMA is not just a token £30 a week, or a small incentive to stay in full time education,” Laura said.
“It is for a lot of young people, and indeed their families, the deciding factor in whether they can afford to continue education, or be forced to go straight into the workplace.
Ógra has launched a petition, as part of its efforts to gather support for this campaign and to ensure that young people’s options are not restricted.

Sign it at http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/saveema