MIKE EGAN,
A chara, - While any increase in the cost of education is undesirable, the recent increase in registration fees for third-level colleges must be viewed in the context of both the overall cost of higher education tuition fees and the commonly held commitment to achieving greater equity of access to such institutions.
As the then education officer with the Union of Students in Ireland, I now deeply regret the blanket introduction of free fees for higher education in 1995. That particular "rising tide" has, patently, not lifted all boats, as was claimed at the time. Indeed, in terms of the subvention of many well-off or comparatively well-off college entrants, the policy has substantially reduced the funds available to address the core issue of low prior educational attainment. It is this issue which lies at the root of the consistently low third-level participation rates from certain sectors of our society, as borne out by the research of Patrick Clancy and others. - Is mise,
MIKE EGAN, The Discovery Centre, Darndale, Dublin 17.