What’s the talk of education?
Proposed cap on student numbers
Right. Time to introduce the kids to the many positive aspects of the coalmine. @anniewestdotcom, Twitter
If it means colleges won’t waste resources on courses where there is a high dropout rate, where people are attending because the points were low and it passed the time, then it might be a good idea. Because of the Croke Park deal, the numbers of lecturers will be run down, so something’s got to give.
– Neil, thejournal.ie
Translation: less places, more competition.
– @Spunout, Twitter
Cap on student numbers? Like that’s not taking a huge step backwards. Points race would become points bloodbath.
– @aine_gannon, Twitter
There are certain people out there who just shouldn’t be in college. So many people end up going in and dropping out or just sitting there for a few years, wasting both their time and taxpayers’ money. Any type of cap needs to separate those who genuinely want to be there versus those who are least-suited for college. This may coincide with a complete overhaul of the points system to one that allows the colleges to select based on suitability.
– David Higgins, thejournal.ie
I would gladly pay a graduate tax in order to maintain our “free” education system, provided the system for application to college was totally revised and shifted from a points race, stress riddled two years into something of a mix between the UCAS (application, interview, portfolio) and what we have now where academic achievements are relevant, but not all that matters. – Jessica Connor, thejournal.ie
Teaching jobs to go, teacher pupil ratio to rise. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I remember that the reason the disastrous Croke Park ‘deal’ was signed by teachers the second time round was to prevent more job losses. And correct me if I’m wrong again but did we in fightback not say at the time that the Croke Park ‘deal’ would not prevent further job losses. We were correct once again. It’s time to see through this Croke Park disaster and start taking action to defend education. – Andrew Phelan, Facebook
A national average of 28 in second level ain’t that bad at all. There used be up to 35 of us when I was in secondary. I think the pupil/teacher ratio debacle is a false grievance or certainly exaggerated by the teachers’ unions. – ruserious, politics.ie
New graduates have a shocking sense of entitlement and figure that the world owes them something for studying. If the jobs aren’t there they need to look in a different direction. Teaching is a vocation and if they are really interested in it they will return to it. I was talking to someone recently who is peripherally involved in the education system. His impression was that many teachers have effectively adopted a work- to-rule since their salaries were cut. If true, I find this a far more serious departure than teacher pupil ratios going up.
– sic transit, politics.ie
Teaching is a job, simple as. Vocations went out with Legio Marie. Vocations imply doing something for the love of it. Will you get real.
– greengoose2, politics.ie
JCert reform: boom! Pupil-teacher ratio: boom! Third grenade to come?
– levdavidovic, Twitter
