ACCESS ALL LEVELS: One of the key recommendations of the report of the Action Group on Access to Third Level (May 2001) is the development of a "co-ordinated framework of measures" to increase participation in higher education by the disadvantaged.

It recommended that a National Office for Equity of Access to Higher Education, with a dedicated staff, be established within the Higher Education Authority. This body is still "under consideration", according to a spokesman for the Department of Education.

The inquiry revealed that a "vast amount of good work is already carried out to address the issues of under-participation in higher education. Actions are promoted or undertaken by a wide variety of agents, including colleges, schools, community and voluntary and State agencies.

"This work is uncoordinated. It lacks cataloguing, and there is no structure to take responsibility for identification and dissemination of best practice. On an individual level, many disadvantaged students are still unable to access third-level places or sustain participation in college, even though they receive significant supports; the supports available may be the wrong mix in their individual circumstances, or it may simply be substantial but inadequate."

The report notes that barriers to access begin at birth and significant progress can only be made in the context of a whole range of initiatives, from early education onwards.

"A national forum in primary education: ending disadvantage", organised by the Centre for Educational Disadvantage, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, takes place from July 1st to 5th. A statutory Educational Disadvantage committee has recently been established. Will the new Minister for Education be prepared to act on their findings?

Anne Byrne