Covid-19: Extra disruption payment to 9,000 NI students

More than 9,000 students at Queen's and Ulster universities are to receive an additional £495 payment for disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That is on top of a £500 payment from the Stormont Executive to about 40,000 students across Northern Ireland.

Additional money was also provided to support students facing financial hardship as part of that scheme.

More than 9,000 students from lower income backgrounds will receive the Covid-19 bursary.

However, students cannot apply for it as it is based on information on their household income held by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

The £500 Covid disruption payment was announced by the then Economy Minister Diane Dodds, in February.

About £22m was spent in total in providing a £500 payment to all full-time higher education students in Northern Ireland.

But part-time and non-EU students in Northern Ireland were not eligible for the payment, nor were students from Northern Ireland taking degree courses elsewhere.

The National Union of Students and Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI) has called for the £500 payment to be extended to those students and also students in further education.

An additional £10m was provided by the executive to support students facing hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and Ulster University (UU) are now making additional payments of £495 to a number of students.

At UU, 5,467 students are receiving an additional Covid-19 bursary of £495.

The university said eligible students were being contacted directly by the university.

"A Covid-19 bursary of £495 is now being issued to eligible students whose household income is lower than the Northern Ireland median," the university said.

"This payment is made possible by the Department for the Economy's financial support package in recognition of the significant challenges faced by university students during the pandemic."

However, UU also said some part-time students who were not eligible for the £500 payment would receive the bursary.

"A Covid-19 education grant of £495 will be issued to part-time students in receipt of a tuition fee grant, and registered with Ulster University in February 2021," the university added.

"This payment reflects the commitment to provide assistance to those students in most financial need and who were excluded from the initial Covid disruption payment under the criteria set by the department.

"We are currently in the process of contacting those eligible part-time students directly.

"As this is a grant for study, it does not impact upon any means-tested benefits part-time students may receive."

QUB has identified 3,669 students eligible for the additional £495 bursary.

As with UU, the payment will be made to those whose household income - based on information held by the Student Loans Company - is lower than the median household income in Northern Ireland.

According to separate data from the Department for Communities (DfC), the median household income in Northern Ireland before housing costs was £478 per week or £25,000 a year in 2018-19.

The vast majority of students in Northern Ireland did not receive face-to-face teaching on campus during the 2020-21 academic year and were taught remotely instead.

A significant number have faced financial hardship due to having to pay for accommodation they have not lived in or the difficulties in finding part-time work during the pandemic.