WILL PRIESTLEY,
Madam, - Third-level education is a question of priorities.
The Government has made much of the concept of a loan system for tuition fees under the guise of opening up the third-level sector to all social classes. But we have heard no proposals to quadruple the State maintenance grant and have it reflect the actual cost of living away from home while attending college.
There has been little talk of raising the income thresholds of those who would be eligible for free third-level education to a fair level. There has been no mention that the cost of just three months of the special savings scheme (SSIA) to the State would finance the third-level education of this country for a whole year, or of the mind-boggling figure of €6 billion for a metro line from the city centre to the airport. That figure would see the children of this State put through third-level education for the first half of the century.
There has been no talk of the consequences of asking students to enter into vocational courses such as nursing where wages do not reflect of skills or training, when from the outset they will be depressingly aware that they will begin their careers with at least a €16,000 debt to pay off.
Has it not occurred to anyone that students may just start to look overseas again for salaries that reflect their qualifications and skills rather than suffer under a system that simply will not be able to meet their wage demands?
There has been no talk of the consequences for courses such as theology or sociology, which would offer no definite career path but only a certain debt.
There has been little understanding that education is an all-round development of a student, forged as much by what occurs outside the lecture theatres as within - and seemingly no understanding that the more students who pass through third level the better it will be for the industry, for commerce and for the State as a whole.
All these anomalies show that the current debate is not about the essence of third-level education at all. If the money had to be found, as in the case of the Government jet, it would have been. I'm afraid that money and not education is now the bottom line in this country. - Yours, etc.,
WILL PRIESTLEY,
Students' Union President,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - It is time we taxpayers stood up for our rights. We are told the reintroduction of third-level tuition level fees will enable the Government to provide proper grants for the less well-off and that colleges will have a balanced intake from all social classes. This, we know, is a smokescreen for Government cuts in education.
Grants already exist for the less well-off and the dearth of working-class students is a multi-faceted problem, not just an economic one. The re-introduction of fees has nothing to do with consideration for the less well-off. It is a regressive step. The Celtic Tiger was the direct result of a highly educated workforce. Restoring fees would deprive many people of the opportunity and desire to obtain a third-level education, which in today's world is a basic qualification. - Yours, etc.,
CLAIRE QUINN,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
Madam, - The debate about third-level access and fees is being approached from the wrong angle. Bringing back fees - be they in the form of "student loans" or not - is not going to make the system much more equitable. The fees system as it stands serves someone from a low-income family better than any of the proposed changes would. If such a person is offered a third-level place, their fees and capitation will be paid and they will qualify for a grant, miserly as it is.
The decision not to pursue further education stems from flaws at primary and secondary levels. There is very little career guidance available in Irish secondary schools, for instance, and even when there is, classes are too crowded for individual cases to get the attention they need.
If I realise this, then the Government knows it too. Of course, my solution would involve spending money rather than using the system to cover the Government's own abysmal failure to keep the State finances in check. Because at the end of the day, that is what all this is about. If that is not the case, why didn't the Government set about "reforming" the system during the era of Celtic Tiger wealth? - Yours etc.,
DECLAN CASHIN,
Callan Road,
Kilkenny.