Report Published on COVID-19 and Traveller and Roma Higher Education

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pavee Point has raised its concerns at the impact of COVID-19 measures on Traveller and Roma transfer to and progress within higher education.

Pavee Point and the National Traveller Women’s Forum wrote to the then Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh, TD and we co-hosted an education forum with Travellers and Roma and a subsequent roundtable with over 50 Access Officers from around the country.

In a 22 page report on the Forum we make a series of recommendations for immediate action and more long-term recommendations. These include –

– Assess the impact of Leaving Cert predicted grades process for prospective Traveller and Roma students and support and promote measures to alleviate any associated negative consequences for third level progression.

– Develop and implement a National Traveller Education Strategy building on the Third Level Action Plan, incorporating the NTRIS (National Traveller and Roma Integration Strategy) education actions with targets, timelines and appropriate monitoring processes