Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1998 No. 300

EDUCATION
Students Awards (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Made
21st August 1998

Coming into operation
1st September 1998

The Department of Education, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 50(1) and 134(1) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(1) hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Students Awards (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 1st September 1998.

Amendment of the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

2.  The Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998(2) shall be amended as provided by regulations 3 to 6.

3.  In regulation 3, in the definition of “old award”, the words “and before 1st September 1999” shall be omitted.

4.  In regulation 8(4)—

(a)in sub-paragraph (a), the words “which is no longer offered” shall be omitted;

(b)after sub-paragraph (a), there shall be inserted—

“(aa)the person had received an offer of a place on a specified course for a year which begins before 1st September 1998, and—

(i)the board is satisfied that the person was unable to take up that offer because of illness; and

(ii)the person was offered a place on a specified course, whether or not at the same institution, and the first year of the course begins on or after 1st September 1998 and before 1st September 1999;”

(c)in sub-paragraph (b)(iv), for the words “the course” there shall be substituted “a specified course, whether or not at the same institution”.

5.  In regulation 8(5)—

(a)the words “, whether or not it is at the same institution,” shall be omitted;

(b)sub-paragraph (a) shall be omitted;

(c)in sub-paragraph (b), for the words “for the most” there shall be substituted “in”; and

(d)after sub-paragraph (b) there shall be added—

“and

(c)where the offer of a place was on a course which is still offered, the other course is at the same institution.”.

6.  In Schedule 5, in paragraph (b) the word “Durham,” shall be omitted.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Education on

L.S.
Neill Jackson
Assistant Secretary
21st August 1998.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations amend the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (“the principal Regulations”).
The Regulations make various amendments to regulations 3 and 8(4) and (5), in relation to awards which are to be treated as “old awards”. For an award to be treated as an old award where a person had, on or before 1st August 1997, received an offer of a place on a similar course (“the old course”) beginning on or after 1st September 1998 and before 1st September 1999, it is no longer necessary that the old course should still be available. In addition, to be treated as a similar course the course for which the award is made (“the new course”) no longer has to lead to a degree or other qualification which is the same as the degree or qualification to which the old course leads; and the board only needs to be satisfied that the subject matter of the new course is in part (rather than for the most part) the same as the subject matter of the old course. However, to be treated as a similar course where the old course is still offered, the new course must be at the same institution (regulation 5).
Regulation 4(b) provides for an award made to a person who is prevented by illness from taking up the offer of a place on a course beginning on or after 1st September 1997 and before 1st September 1998 to be treated as an old award.
Regulation 4(c) amends regulation 8(4)(b) of the principal Regulations, so that an award made to a person who has successfully appealed against his examination results is treated as an old award, whether or not it is in respect of the same specified course for which the person has been offered a place, and whether or not it is at the same institution.
Regulation 6 amends paragraph (b) of Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations to remove the reference to Durham, since it is no longer intended that payments should be made under the principal Regulations in respect of any college fees or dues charged at that University.


(1)
S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)

(2)
S.R. 1998 No. 273