Letters

Tertiary education – quality and quantity

International comparisons are not always as clear-cut as they seem

Wed Nov 23 2022 - 00:09

Sir, – Further to David McWilliams’s column “A new united Ireland must plan for a population of 10 million” (Weekend, Opinion, November 19th), of course we can take pride in being “the best educated country in the European Union”, when this is gauged by the metric of 50 per cent of us having completed tertiary education, although such international comparisons are not always as clear-cut as they seem. And quality is not reducible to quantity.

But is this marvellous increase in participation coming at a cost to the quality of our university education? I refer to the 50 per cent increase in first-class honours being awarded in our universities (News, November 15th).

Is there a balance effect at work here whereby actual quality is being diluted by the increased quantity? Has our increased inclusiveness debased the coinage of the outcome?

I would raise a related question. Is the emerging or actual policy of foreshortening the duration of study required for some subjects at Leaving Cert by one year likely to undermine the standard of those entering third level, thus threatening to debase the coinage of that award further or will it lead to increased dropout?

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Both the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Department of Further and Higher Education could well heed the ancient medical principle of “First do no harm.” – Yours, etc,

DESMOND SWAN,

(Emeritus Professor

of Education,

University College Dublin),

Stillorgan,

Co Dublin.

A chara, – Graduation ceremonies where the graduates are called to the rostrum in alphabetical order are to be applauded (Letters, November 19th).

Getting a degree or a diploma is a great achievement for many students, and the alphabetical order celebrates individual excellence for all of the graduates.

Students’ home towns could always arrange parades for those who achieve firsts, although the way grade inflation is going, we may end up with more annual parades than the Orange Order. – Is mise,

LOMAN Ó LOINGSIGH,

Dublin 24.