The latest report from the Higher Education Authority on participation at third-level underlines the two-tier nature of our education system. Although access to third-level is virtually guaranteed for the middle and upper classes, those from poorer and disadvantaged communities are still largely locked out.
But some progress is being made. The number in the 17-19 years age bracket in higher education has passed the 50 per cent mark for the first time. However, the participation rates in many working-class communities remain pitiful. Less than one-in-five school leavers in areas like Dublin's north inner-city, Darndale and and parts of Clondalkin enter higher education. By contrast, the participation rate is close to 80 per cent in some of the more prosperous suburbs. The harsh reality is this: your prospects of going to college still depend to an inordinate degree on where you live and on your family's socio-economic background.
Former education minister Noel Dempsey sought to break this linkage by proposing a return of college fees. His plan was to divert the money generated from the better-off to help subsidise access programmes in disadvantaged communities. It was an innovative initiative but one which failed to muster support around the Cabinet table. He also began moves to reform the notorious and poorly administered higher education grant scheme. A series of reports have shown how the children of large farmers or prosperous business people are often more likely to secure grants than children from poor backgrounds.
Mr Dempsey's successor Mary Hanafin has sought to calm the middle classes by declaring the return of fees off the agenda. Otherwise, she has given little clue as to her views on the whole issue of college access and reform of the student grant system. It is expected that a major report on educational disadvantage, due shortly, will help frame her thinking on equality issues. The report is known to be highly critical of the lack of coherence in the Department's efforts to combat disadvantage.
That said, the task of widening college access cannot be solved by targeted initiatives from the Department, improved access programmes from the third-level sector and reform of the student grant scheme. These and other such initiatives can, of course, help. But a longer view must also be taken. If this society really wants to widen colleges access, there must be a quantum leap in funding for disadvantaged primary and second-level schools. Incentives should be given to recruit and retain the best teachers for schools in disadvantaged areas. These are the kind of steps which could make a real difference.