Sir, – William Reville is correct to laud the improving access to third-level education to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds ("Our meritocratic educational system serves us well", Science Opinion, December 16th). It's important we recognise that graduation from university should not be the sole pathway to a job worthy of respect and decent wages. And that in the current "meritocracy", success (as currently defined) depends a lot more on luck (the genes and cultural milieu we're born into) than we often allow for. – Yours, etc,
COLM MAGEE,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Sir,– Prof Reville is wrong to downplay the serious educational inequities present in Irish education.
The heat-map of third-level progression across Dublin postcodes is a heat-map of economic privilege, and while he is correct to highlight the significant progress made in the last 60 years in increasing third-level progression rates, I worry that this attitude breeds laxity in relation to what is a very serious problem. Indeed, he argues himself that the over-representation of affluent students in the three highest points courses that he highlighted “will almost certainly change soon to reflect more equitable representation across the board”. Why is it likely, let alone certain, to change when we know that educational divides appear before children even enter primary school?
It is unjust that our system does not adequately assist the less affluent to get into certain third-level courses (or indeed into third-level at all sometimes), but it is also hugely wasteful, and therefore to the detriment of all of us. As the corporation tax intake looks increasingly shaky, there are more calls to make Ireland’s selling point its talent. Why then do we waste half of our talent?
As Michael Sandel argues in The Tyranny of Merit, one of its most insidious features is that it convinces us that we “deserve” where we got to through hard work and to overlook advantages we got through nothing more than plain luck. Meritocracy remains the best system, but let’s not lose our sense of urgency about making it fairer. – Yours, etc,
EOIN MacLACHLAN,
London.