The Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is under threat in the North of Ireland following the decision by the Tories in Westminster to Scrap it altogether in England.
The EMA is paid to young people from lower income families who commit to continuing in further education.
However in the face of massive budget cuts, Stormont ministers are considering whether to follow the example of their colleagues in England and axe it here.
There will be no changes to funding during the 2011/2012 academic year but no guarantees about it’s future survival have been given after this time.
Davy Hyland stated "Around 24,000 students in the North currently receive the EMA and hence it is a vital lifeline into further education and training for many of our young people."
Hyland further stated that "young boys and girls are already bearing the brunt of the draconian cuts and abolishing the EMA would be another step towards consigning a generation of these young people to the scrapheap
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