A Plea for Help from Very Concerned and Unhappy Students

UK UNIVERSITY MAINTENANCE FUND

Five University Students of St Helena Island made their case to elected members of the St Helena Legislative Council on Tuesday 18th April 2023 for equal treatment on funding.

The five students (l-r) Kyla Joshua, Kirsten Augustus, Katie-Raye Williams, Cerys Joshua, and Ronaldo Johnson were accompanied by their parents, other students, and supporters along with the Bishop of St Helena, The Rt. Rev. Dale Bowers.

The media were also in attendance.

The issue is that students can now access the UK route of loan funding for tuition, but not the UK Maintenance fund, it is complete inequality between British and overseas students, both of which have British Passports.

The papers’ introduction passage reads:

“We are writing to you as students of St Helena Island who have lost all hope since the discontinuation of the island’s Scholarship scheme; Students who feel not only neglected by our education system, but by our own government. However, we would like to stress that we are grateful for the help we have received thus far. We fully appreciate the predicament SHG finds itself in; we understand that there are
moments we don’t see. We genuinely thank you all who have supported us, positivity does not go unnoticed. But at the end of the day as we are British Students, aren’t we entitled to higher education and the full benefits of this position?”

These Students raised this issue, not just for themselves but for their peers and those that follow them in later years.