FE SU Support 

Passed at National Conference 2021

The problem

A massive issue facing our students is that students in further education colleges are often left behind in government decision making. We saw this throughout 2020/21 when it came to developing alternative assessment arrangements for BTEC students, clarity on FE students receiving access to Erasmus+ through the Irish government sponsorship program and being largely excluded from NI Executive financial support packages. Its essential that further education students receive parity of esteem.  This is important to us as a movement as students in further education make up the vast majority of our movement, and cannot wait any longer in being prioritised by government. We need equal support for the FE student voice alongside greater investment in further education Unions who are representing thousands of students with little financial investment.

Proposed Solutions

A solution to this would mean that Unions would have enough investment to develop student voice locally without the current intense workloads Unions are facing. It would mean investment into student mental health services, Clubs and Societies, academic representation programs and the development of a learner engagement framework. The past academic year has shown how incredibly strong Unions are, and how essential they are to students lives. Students’ Unions are the basis of community building within colleges and now more than ever we need prioritisation of funding into student services, particularly further education Unions.