AQW 5856/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 27/07/2020
Answered On Date: 31/07/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy for a timescale for the completion of her Department's review into Postgraduate Education in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

The Postgraduate Loan Review is a complex piece of work comprising differing strands of the postgraduate funding systems in Northern Ireland. The appropriateness of the current Postgraduate fee loan, of up to £5,500 towards the cost of taught postgraduate courses, will be reviewed alongside a range of potential options for maintenance loans or grants. Separate from that, there will be a review of the Postgraduate Awards Scheme.

It is anticipated that a public consultation on the Postgraduate Loan Review, comprising the different options for fee loans and maintenance provision, will be published before the end of this year.