Your education questions answered.

As a parent of two girls who have gone to a fee-paying school, I'm a little tired of hearing that I am elitist and obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses. In the area in which I live (Rathmines) there are no community schools, so there is no free option for someone interested in co-education or non-Catholic education. As non-Catholics we were unwilling for our girls to go to a convent school. I don't agree with fee-paying schools, but in the circumstances felt that we had no other option. This is an aspect to the debate that is never mentioned.

The issues surrounding fee-paying second-level schools - why parents choose them and their success rate in placing students in university, as shown in The Irish Times recently, has generated much debate in recent weeks.

It is clear to me that many parents see no alternative to paying fees, either for religious reasons or because of the non-availability of any alternative in their area. Others make major sacrifices, such as foregoing holidays, to fund their children in such schools and object to my recent suggestion that they fund some of the costs of their children's third-level education.

I would like to respond to all such parents by making the following points.

As a society we decide how much taxation revenue to allocate to education by our votes for political parties.

Each year, we are currently losing 20 per cent of students prior to the Leaving Cert, with up to 3,500 of these being under 16. The cumulative effect of this is that we have a massive problem with alienated youth on the one hand and adult literacy on the other.

Many potential students never make it to college because the present grants system is totally inadequate.

Many parents whose children's third-level education is currently being funded from general taxation, could afford to pay themselves, thus freeing up money to tackle the issues of underfunding and inadequate grants.

It is in all our interests to debate this issue and reach a consensus on what structure of third-level funding is equitable and conducive to social harmony and economic development.

My daughter is interested in computer courses in third-level. I am told the points have really dropped. Could you give me an idea of what kind of points score she will need?

This year saw a major drop in points requirements for courses in computers and information technology. This was brought about by a 50 per cent drop in applications to many of these courses.

The points for many courses dropped by up to 100 points. Students with a minimum of 350 points were being offered places on degree courses, while those prepared to start at certificate level were being offered places with as little as 150 points. I would suggest that these particular students might prove to be very fortunate indeed.

Finally, let me sound a note of caution to those interested in careers in computers. Enjoying using computers is not to be confused with an aptitude for a career in the area. Students entering courses in this area must expect a high maths content. The high drop-out rates are caused, in part, by lack of research by students.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. You can e-mail him your questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie