Madam, – Prof Tom Garvin (Opinion, May 1st) accuses me, among other things, of saying that books are obsolete. This is wholly false; I never did and never would make such an assertion. The presence of such a bizarre and unfounded declaration will alert your readers, and perhaps also your fact-checkers, to the true value of your contributor’s piece.
It is a sorry day when untruth and bitterness are presented as opinion and analysis. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I wish to add to Prof Tom’s Garvin’s excellent essay (Opinion, May 1st) by proposing that the recent loss of interest in more intellectual university courses has been exacerbated by increasing student debt and will be further exacerbated by the reintroduction of fees.
In previous years students enjoyed more freedom to actively engage in intellectual pursuits far beyond the scope of their courses. It was often through these extracurricular activities that they found their true vocation. It was in these intellectually fluid environments where many of our brightest writers, political activists and independent thinkers first cut their teeth.
These days, many university students outside lectures, struggle to hold down jobs of up to 40 hours per week in order to pay for the ever-increasing burden of debt, registration fees and living costs.
This situation leads to an increased demand for less intellectual and more vocationally oriented degree programmes as the latter are perceived to offer a greater prospect of a secure employment upon graduation – a necessity if one is carrying debt. In this commercially driven environment, programmes such as those in the humanities suffer from reduced demand and consequently departments are put under increased pressure to justify themselves.
The reintroduction of student fees will only serve to drive this commercial trend as higher education institutions begin to assume the role of training providers for the private sector rather than centres of learning, leadership and scholarship. Only those students of independent means will retain the freedom to choose courses based on interest and aptitude and only those students of independent means will continue to enjoy the opportunities full engagement in campus life provides.
Having worked in academia over the past decade and witnessed the expansive building programmes on many university campuses I ask myself whether it would be healthier for our society if university campuses consisted of derelict Portakabins packed with intellectually engaged students and inspirational teachers from every social strata, rather than this corporate vision of fee-paying centres of excellence promoted by many of our university executives. – Yours, etc,