Yes folks, it's that time of year again. The Royal Irish Academy have called for the re-introduction of third level fees, and in response, Mary Hanafin has told them to politely feck off.
And of course, as always, much fist shaking from the USI.
The report on this originates from RTÉ, which currently has a banner ad for Dublin Business School - a fee paying third level college. The irony is sweet.
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There should definitely be some movement towards fees or loans of some kind. The example I'm best acquanted with is medicine. The government contributes only a fraction of the cost of education for each EU student in the Irish system. This has led to a huge reliance on non-EU students, who pay over three times what the Irish government contributes for Irish students.
The massive underfunding that results from a state monopoly on paying fees for most EU students has distorted the third level sector hugely. Medicine is probably the worst example but right across third level education courses are underfunded and this results in reduced quality in our colleges and universities.
Some form of loan system should be introduced for top up fees at the very least. To start with colleges could charge top-up fees for certain courses that are in very urgent need of funding.
The problem is that the government will not increase contributions adequately. Perhaps a limited top-up fees system would put pressure on the state to contribute better - when students/parents are paying some fees they will be more aware of the needs of the colleges for funding and hopefully put pressure on the government to do a bit more at their end.
That's a somewhat optimistic view, I feel.Originally Posted by Zhukov
I'd agree that fees should be introduced for third level students. Although, I think the money generated should be used to attract more kids from disadvantaged areas. But judging by Hanafin's past cash allocations there's little chance of that happening.
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Fees should never have been removed. A comprehensive review of the means testing procedures and grant levels should have been done instead. To do that of course would have involved getting 100s of unionised civil servants in the local authorities to do some actual work, so free fees was a much 'easier' solution.
The admin charges that students are charged have been creeping up in the interim, and are going to replace the amount missing from fees at the rate they are increasing.
Postgrads pay fees, colleges and universities will favour these over undergrads.
Also, under the cloak of multicultural bumpf, quotas for intake of fee paying non-EU students, who take places that would otherwise go to EU students, are creepingly being imposed.
Bring back fees and allow the universities to compete on the world stage.
That's not always the case.Postgrads pay fees, colleges and universities will favour these over undergrads
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Fine, change 'will' to 'may' if it makes you feel better. Fact is, it happens. To what extent? You tell me.
Take it easy, I was talking about the 'post-grads pay fees' bit. Post-grads don't always pay fees.
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Really? Excluding those on grants yeah? What kinds and where, I'm curious....
Had fees not been abolished, I never would have experienced a third level education, without landing myself in an awful lot of debt. The simple reality, is that while my parents (both teachers) made a reasonable income (ie - vastly in excess of any means testing, even if the qualifying levels were dramatically reduced), there was no way they could have afforded to pay fees for my education.
I for one am extremely grateful for the abolition of third level fees, and I would like to see the funding of third level universities increase so that top-up fees could be waived for the majority of students.
The Beautiful Room -
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