A chara, – Dr Stephen Kelly (December 3rd) writes of what he calls an "uncomfortable realisation" that the Irish university system must adopt such a loan scheme. He does not outline the cause of his discomfort, although one wonders if a defence of the British loans scheme might be at the heart of it.
As someone who also teaches in a British university, I can’t quite believe his colleagues and students have been quiescent about the supposed benefits of the student loan system. Since coming here in 2007 hardly a month has passed without staff and students making known their total opposition to the scheme, which leaves our graduates with an average debt of at least £40,000. Not only is that a ridiculous amount of money to owe at the start of your working life but it comes from a government which believes that the greatest personal debt crisis in history can be not only alleviated but overcome by saddling a generation of young people with ever-greater amounts of personal debt.
Even its defenders have realised of late that the current system is unsustainable and there is a growing demand for the reinstitution of maintenance grants. – Is mise,
Dr MÁIRTÍN Ó CATHÁIN,
Senior Lecturer
in Irish History,
University of
Central Lancashire,
Preston.