Comments on: Social equity and access to higher education

By: James Fryar

James Fryar — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:16:02 +0000

It is, of course, difficult to disagree with anything that’s been said! However, I would argue that such inititives do not necessarily cost large sums of money. This only applies because of the school system we rigorously defend in Ireland and the UK in which Government-declared curriculae must be followed.

In Germany, Scandavian countries, and Eastern Europe the school system includes specialist schools with curriculae tailored for specific aptitudes. You’re good at languages? Fine, we’ll put you in a school with a high language content and teachers who are incredibly proficient. You’re good at science and maths? We’ll put you in that science-orientated school where you can explore that aptitude.

This, to me at least, makes a lot more sense than our one-size-fits-all system. And in terms of access to third-level, it ensures students are identified and recieve the education that best suits them.

If we had schools like those of our European neighbours, we’d not have more schools, just schools with different specialisms. And I’m a firm believer that tailoring the school system for the students is more sensible than attempting to tailor the students for the system. That, in turn, I think would lead to higher participation rates in third-level for students from certain socio-economic backgrounds because their individual aptitudes and abilities would be identified and encouraged.

By: Vince

Vince — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:49:04 +0000

It’s taken me a while to frame a response to this post. Well here goes.
Reading this blog and reading outside it in order to adequately comment has cause a sea change in my opinion of this subject. For the longest time I held that fully open and free was the way to go with education, all education. But all this does is cause cash to be deployed elsewhere. Where nowadays the professional bodies are charging a kings ransom for what is in essence a duplication.
If we are to have even the slightest attempt at equality in the eyes of government we cannot continue as we are right now. Dear heavens we had the utterly ludicrous situation where so called labour party ministers were stripping and hollowing out aids to schools adjacent to council estates while protecting the €100million subvention to the spawn of surgeons, solicitors, higher state employees and knights, barons, and earls of various hue.
Talk about Fine Gael, only shorter. pshaw

By: Robin Parker

Robin Parker — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:08:23 +0000

Scottish Universities will see from this summer an increase of £135m per year in their funding. That funding was put in place in order that there would be no funding gap to the rest of the UK where tuition fees have been increased, and so that tuition fees continue to no longer be a barrier to access. So, I’m fully looking forward to seeing Scottish Universities put that massive boost in funding towards tackling the shameful rates of access that you quite rightly highlight. I think you are spot on about the kinds of policies that need to be implemented, though.

By: Anna Notaro

Anna Notaro — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:44:14 +0000

The latest HESA figures of 27% of students in Scotland from poorest homes while for UK as a whole 31% proves of course that wider access is not achieved by tuition fees policies only and that this issue cannot be addressed by universities alone. The wider measures proposed in the post are sensible ones, it might be worth adding that according to a recent report the gulf between the richest and poorest in British society is at its widest since the Second World War and that the issue of social inequality is not only a European but a global phenomenon, as the Occupy movement with their political slogan ‘We are the 99%’ has demonstrated. The cold HESA figures are just the symptom a wider social and cultural malaise whose deeper causes relate to the crisis of liberal capitalism, that such a malaise could be healed by setting some harder targets for universities is shortsighted, besides if this suggestion comes from a Cabinet of millionaires it becomes ludicrous.