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21/01/2004
NI teenagers to get cash incentive to stay in school
A new means-tested allowance of up to £30 to encourage 16-year-olds to stay in school or further education will be introduced in Northern Ireland in September.
The Minister with responsibility for Education and Employment and Learning, Jane Kennedy, announced that the Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMA’s), which are already being piloted in England and Scotland, will be available to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland this September.
Ms Kennedy said: “I am delighted to be able to confirm that funding has been agreed to extend the scheme to pupils here and trust that it will have an impact on the number of young people staying on in education post 16-years-old.”
Under this new initiative, 16-year-olds from low income families may be entitled to financial support, in the form of a means-tested allowance, of up to £30 a week, who undertake appropriate full-time courses at school or FE college. Performance bonuses will also be available.
The scheme will initially only be available to 16-year-olds, but the Minister added that the intention was to expand the scheme to include the entire 16-19 year old age group in subsequent years.
The aim of Educational Maintenance Allowances is to assist young people aged between 16-19 from lower income families to achieve their educational potential by raising participation, retention and achievement levels in post-compulsory education. The pilot exercise in England and Scotland, which launched in 1999 resulted in an increase in the numbers of children staying on at school or college after the age of 16 and, if the trend was repeated in Northern Ireland, should also see a corresponding beneficial impact on qualifications and job prospects.
Details of the scheme are currently being formalised and a further announcement is expected in April.
The Minister said: “Details of the weekly allowance and the qualifying conditions are being formalised at present and will be announced by way of a public information campaign scheduled to begin in April this year. There will also be a series of workshops throughout Northern Ireland in schools and FE colleges to explain the application process, as well as a follow-up mail shot of literature to public and community agencies and an advertising campaign to promote the scheme.”
(KMcA)
The Minister with responsibility for Education and Employment and Learning, Jane Kennedy, announced that the Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMA’s), which are already being piloted in England and Scotland, will be available to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland this September.
Ms Kennedy said: “I am delighted to be able to confirm that funding has been agreed to extend the scheme to pupils here and trust that it will have an impact on the number of young people staying on in education post 16-years-old.”
Under this new initiative, 16-year-olds from low income families may be entitled to financial support, in the form of a means-tested allowance, of up to £30 a week, who undertake appropriate full-time courses at school or FE college. Performance bonuses will also be available.
The scheme will initially only be available to 16-year-olds, but the Minister added that the intention was to expand the scheme to include the entire 16-19 year old age group in subsequent years.
The aim of Educational Maintenance Allowances is to assist young people aged between 16-19 from lower income families to achieve their educational potential by raising participation, retention and achievement levels in post-compulsory education. The pilot exercise in England and Scotland, which launched in 1999 resulted in an increase in the numbers of children staying on at school or college after the age of 16 and, if the trend was repeated in Northern Ireland, should also see a corresponding beneficial impact on qualifications and job prospects.
Details of the scheme are currently being formalised and a further announcement is expected in April.
The Minister said: “Details of the weekly allowance and the qualifying conditions are being formalised at present and will be announced by way of a public information campaign scheduled to begin in April this year. There will also be a series of workshops throughout Northern Ireland in schools and FE colleges to explain the application process, as well as a follow-up mail shot of literature to public and community agencies and an advertising campaign to promote the scheme.”
(KMcA)
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