Sir, - As I read your edition of October 10th, I felt amazed, betrayed and disgusted at the finding of the recent HEA report regarding the issue of grants to third-level students.
Amazed that families from large farming/ managerial/ higher professional backgrounds could have a gross annual income of below £20,000 and thus qualify for grant assistance.
Betrayed in light of the refusal of a grant to me because my family's income was marginally above the upper limit, when it now transpires that funds were available for students from backgrounds of much higher means.
Disgusted that, given the large increases in inflation of late and in particular the cost of renting accommodation, the maintenance grant is still a fraction of what even the most frugal of students will need to house, feed and clothe themselves through their academic year.
Students from working-class backgrounds struggle enough to overcome social and cultural barriers to get to college, without our Government supporting the myth that third-level education is only for the financial elite. - Yours, etc.,
Anita Monaghan, Swords, Co Dublin.