A chara, - Minister Dempsey's idea of a lottery to decide who gets into third-level colleges (April 5th) is a good one, but does not go far enough.
The nub of Mr Dempsey's suggestion is that, above a certain standard, no discrimination should be made in favour of those with the highest scores. On this I agree. Where I would like to go further is to require that this standard be an objective standard.
The points system is not a measure of objective standards. A student's points in the Leaving Certificate have value only in relation to the points of others. This value can and does change from year to year. What I am suggesting is that objective assessable minimum standards be set for entry into third-level courses. Each course would have its own set of minimum requirements. Assessment could be made by the college itself, by the State, or by a recognised body.
The points system is used to take the winners of a race for points and extrapolate from their results suitability for every professional career available. This is a very crude and inaccurate measure. It discriminates in favour of those who are good at scoring Leaving Certificate points and excludes not just those less privileged, but also all those whose ability and aptitude are not in this area.
My suggestion to the Minister is to replace the points race with a wide range of objective standard tests. In tandem with this, I suggest that he require colleges to set minimum objectively assesssable standards for entry to third-level courses.
Should they use a lottery to decide places after this, at least it would be fair. - Le gach dea-ghuí,
DARA MOLLOY, Inis Mór, Co na Gaillimhe.
Madam, - I was shocked by Noel Dempsey's suggestion that the quota of college places could be given by lottery to students with less than the required points level for the course.
I believe that the motivation for the introduction of these measures is well-founded, as there is a clear disadvantage for those students that can not afford extra tuition.
However, the solution does not lie in the imposition of a false economy in the pursuit of college places. The points for a given course are entirely related to the demand for a course and instead of interfering with the points system, the Minister should focus on increasing the number of places available in those courses most in demand and reducing the educational gap between students.
I believe the Minister should focus on other avenues to aid those economically disadvantaged students. For example, a website could be developed which is available to all students to guide them through every Leaving Cert syllabus. This could be used to supplement the work already performed in the classroom and would help to reduce the gap which is created by wealth difference.
The Minister should not be so quick to alter a functioning system, albeit not a perfect one, when other options are currently available. Yours, etc.,
M. GRIFFIN, Trinity College, Dublin 2.