Madam, - Recent regulations limiting how long non-EU students can stay in this country before enrolment in one of our universities would be welcome if they served to encourage students towards further education and away from the limbo of English-language schools. However, it seems to me that these regulations will only make the possibility of attending university in this country even more unlikely for most of these students.
Entry into our third-level system rests on two basic requirements. The first is a high level of English. The second is the means to afford the entry fees for university. Given that university fees can be high - €10,000 a year (if not higher) - the average student is faced with an almost insurmountable problem: how to pay language school fees (approximately €2,000) to help meet requirement one while supporting themselves in one of the most expensive cities in the world. At the same time they must also save money in order to meet requirement two. This must all be managed with whatever money they can make during the 24 hours they are legally allowed to work per week.
Under these circumstances only the wealthiest students will find their way into our universities. Perhaps it would make more sense for these regulations to coincide with a reduction in fees, thus allowing fair competition for university places. As many of these students drive our service industry and pay taxes it seems only fair to allow them some of the same opportunities our own students enjoy. - Yours, etc.,
STEPHEN BRUCE, Harold's Cross, Dublin 6.