Sir, – The Institute of Technology (IoT) sector faces some huge challenges that Denis Cummins has not mentioned (Leftfield, Education, April 9th). Instead he has implied that anyone who raises legitimate questions about the sector and its role is guilty of not only academic elitism but also some form of social elitism.
Foremost of the sector’s problems is its ongoing struggle to attract high calibre students into many of its Level 8 (honours degree) programmes. Such programmes form the cornerstone of any university or equivalent institution. According to last year’s CAO figures, considerably more than 50 per cent of Level 8 programmes offered by Blanchardstown, Tallaght, Sligo and Letterkenny had entry points below the 300 mark. The other IoTs had slightly better percentages, but still had a significant number of low-point courses. None of the universities has this problem.
In my view, which is based on more than 20 years teaching at this level, 300 points is below the mark at which the typical student’s ability to complete a Level 8 programme becomes marginal. This often has to do with work ethic and motivation as much as innate ability, but a point score as low as 300 is a genuine problem. This is not to categorise young people in any way; it is simply an observation based on experience.
In these circumstances, it is reasonable to ask questions about the mission of the IoT sector; and academics and policy makers should not be afraid to have this discussion in public for fear of being labelled as elitist. – Yours, etc,
Dr GREG FOLEY,
Lecturer, School of
Biotechnology,
Dublin City University,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 11.