MigrantEducationAccess

[Berkut]

Dear friends and colleagues
The Migrant Education Access Campaign is outreaching to this year’s leaving cert students who may be impacted by barriers accessing citizenship and third level education THIS YEAR. Would appreciate if you could send the email below onto to any relevant contacts in the education sector particularly secondary schools (teachers, principals), students and parents potentially impacted. Please feel free to share it widely along with our Face Book posts today https://www.facebook.com/MigrantEducationAccess
In appreciation and solidarity
Helen

Helen Lowry
Community Work Coordinator

Working to promote Justice, Empowerment and Equality for migrant workers and their families

Support Migrant Education Access (MEA) Campaign - Facebook
Children of non EU migrants deserve equality of access to third level education


Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
Working for Justice, Empowerment and Equality for Migrants

20th May 2013




Dear teachers, colleagues and friends

We in the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) are emailing you as this years leaving cert draws close. We are concerned about the scenario facing young people who have grown up in Ireland but because they havent yet secured Irish citizenship will face significantly high tuition fees at third level. Without citizenship many will also fail to qualify for any financial assistance in the form of the Free Fees Initiative (FFI) or higher education grants. Our Migrant Education Access (MEA) campaign has been working with hundreds of families over the past year on this, advocating for change with the Department of Education and Skills.

We are emailing firstly to highlight information and advice we have made available on our website for children of Non-migrants who might be concerned about citizenship and fees at third level. This may prove a useful resource to yourselves as teachers and also to young people and their families impacted.

We are also emailing because we want to outreach to any of this years leaving cert students impacted by these issues to provide support and to let them know about our campaign. These are young people who came to Ireland to join their parents, were originally born outside of the EU but have grown up here and made Ireland home. Through no fault of their own these young people have faced barriers securing citizenship in Ireland which in turn has an impact on the tutition fees they face at third level. In our experience many dont realise this until they start third level.
What can you do?

READ AND SHARE our citizenship and third level information updates with young people you feel may be impacted. Feel free to share with other teachers also
Put us in touch directly with any young people and their parents impacted by these issues. You can share our contact details Helen@mrci.ie / info@mrci.ie with any young person / parent recommending they get in contact ASAP
SHARE AND LIKE OUR MIGRANT EDUCATION ACCESS FACEBOOK PAGE AND ANIMATION that young people made about this issue

We are in direct contact with the Department of Education and Skills about these issues. We have made recommendations for change and raised awareness about these inequalities through Migrant Education Access. We hope through our contact to reach more of this years leaving cert students who may be affected.
In solidarity

Helen

Helen Lowry
Campaign Coordinator



Migrant Rights Centre Ireland,
55 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1
Tel: 01 8897570
Email: info@mrci.ie

www.mrci.ie

Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
55 Parnell Square West
Dublin 1
website - www.mrci.ie
Phone - 01 8897102
Fax - 00353 (1) 8897579