Middlesex University to reduce fees for Gurkhas’ children
Last month the High Court ruled in favour of a group of retired British Army Gurkhas, and now Middlesex University is showing its support for the Gurkha cause by treating students who are the children of Gurkhas as UK students.
Middlesex University believes that, like the children of all British soldiers,the children of Gurkhas have a right to a British education, and is demonstrating its support for the Gurkhas by regarding their children as UK students instead of as international students. In effect, this will mean that their tuition fees for an undergraduate programme could be reduced by almost 65%, and Middlesex University hopes that this will place high quality higher education within the reach of the children of Gurkhas, as
well as Gurkhas themselves.
This will affect Gurkhas and the children of Gurkhas who are currently serving (with a minimum of one year of service already completed) in the British Army or who have retired after serving in the British Army for at least 15 years. The concession will apply from the 2009/2010 academic year onwards, and will affect the fees of those already studying at Middlesex University as well as new applicants to the university. In addition to providing evidence of their own or their father’s service in the Gurkhas, new applicants will obviously also have to fulfil Middlesex University’s usual admissions criteria.
Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, with almost 200 000 having fought loyally for Britain all over the world. In addition to serving in both world wars, the Gurkhas have served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, and have received 13 Victoria Crosses between them. There are estimated to be around 3000 currently serving Gurkhas based in the UK with their families, and in September, the High Court ruled in favour of a group of retired Gurkhas, finding that immigration rules stating that Gurkhas who retired from the British Army before 1997 did not have an
automatic right to live in the UK were unlawful.
Melvyn Keen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Director of Finance at
Middlesex University says: “Whilst this does only affect a few of our current students, we are very pleased to be able to offer them the opportunity to study at Middlesex as ‘home’ students in the future. Their fathers have served Britain with fierce loyalty and it is only fair to offer them the same opportunities as are afforded to the children of other British servicemen”.
With more than 20% of the University’s student body made up of international students, Middlesex University prides itself on being a global university, and now the University is proud to be able to offer this group of ‘international students with UK roots’ an academic home.
Editor’s Notes:
• For more information please contact Middlesex University Press Officer, Kerry
MacKenzie on 020 8411 6761 or at k.mackenzie@mdx.ac.uk.
• For more information visit http://www.mdx.ac.uk.
Gallery
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comments
Clarification on Middlesex University fee reduction for children
From: lachhya gurung
Sent: 2/27/2009 9:31:35 PM
To: Kerry (Middlesex Uni)
Cc: Lachhya Gurung, Udai Gurung , suresh Gautam , Udaya Gurung , Khamirjang Gurung , Mohanbahadur1604 Gurung , Prem Gurung(spokesman) , Harkaram Rai , Ben (sports ic) Gurung
Subject: RE: Clarification on Middlesex University fee reduction for children of Gurkhas
Dear Mr Mackenzie,
Thank you so much for your kind information/clarification. I have forwarded your mail to other Nepali/Gurkha communities in the UK for wider circulation. I do hope children of Gurkhas will take advantage of this special offer.
Once again thank you so much for your kind help to the Gurkhas.
Kind regards,
Lachhya Gurung
General Secretary
Burnt Oak Nepalese Community London
www.nepalesecommunity.org.uk
www.tangting.org
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:36:07 +0000
From: K.MacKenzie@
Subject: Clarification on Middlesex University fee reduction for children of Gurkhas
To: lachhya@hotmail.com
Dear Mr Gurung,
Further to the press release about Middlesex University offering reduced tuition fees to the children of Gurkhas that you placed on your website in 2008, we would like to give you some additional information to further clarify the criteria that students will need to fulfil in order to qualify.
As you know, in 2008 Middlesex University rallied behind the Gurkha cause, announcing that the University will offer bursaries in the form of tuition fee reductions to the children of Gurkhas from the 2008/09 academic year onwards.
This affects Gurkhas and the children of Gurkhas who are currently serving in the British Army with a minimum of one year of service already completed, or who have already retired from the British Army with a minimum of one year of service completed.
The bursary means that Middlesex University students who qualify will be entitled to pay the same fees as UK students. Provided that they fulfil the criteria stipulated by the University, this will affect the fees of those already studying at Middlesex University as well as new applicants to the University.
The criteria to qualify for the bursary are as follows:
In addition to providing evidence of their own or their father¹s service in the Gurkhas, new applicants will obviously also have to fulfil Middlesex University¹s usual admissions criteria.
Applicants and students who wish to apply for the bursary should submit a bursary application form together with valid proof of service (Letter of engagement and ID card for Active Servicemen, Discharge certificate or pension documents for Retired Servicemen) at the time of admission or up to the end of the academic year.
With more than 20% of the University¹s student body made up of international students, Middlesex University prides itself on being a global university, and now the University is proud to be able to offer this group of Œinternational students with UK roots¹ an academic home.
For more information, please feel free to direct your readers to
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/study/undergrad/ugfees/fees.asp and
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/study/postgrad/moneymatters/fees.asp.
Kind regards,
Kerry MacKenzie
Press Officer
Middlesex University
020 8411 6761
k.mackenzie@mdx.ac.uk