Participation in Irish Higher Education

At present about 60 per cent of Irish students completing the Leaving Certificate (the high school qualification) proceed to higher education, which is very high by world standards; in Germany it is 45 per cent. Participation in higher education in Ireland was low until the last quarter of the twentieth century. In fact, participation in post-primary education was also low. Only a small number of Irish pupils progressed to post-primary education until the 1960s. In 1966, only about 24 per cent of the relevant age cohort completed the Leaving Certificate. There were thousands in generations up to the last quarter of the twentieth century who could have achieved success in any walk of life if they had the educational opportunities enjoyed by later generations. The influential OECD report, Investment in Education, published in two volumes in 1965 and 1966, recommended expansion and investment in education at all levels. Free secondary education from September 1967 opened post primary education to all regardless of means and provided opportunities for thousands of young people to follow their dreams. Participation increased across the country and brought about a new social revolution. By the dawn of the third millennium AD, over 80 per cent of the relevant age cohort in Ireland completed the Leaving Certificate, and it is now around 90 per cent.

In 1966, only 12.3 per cent of the relevant cohort went on to third-level, but by the start of the new millennium it was over 50 per cent and now approximately 60 per cent. Up to the 1970s, virtually every qualified applicant secured the course of his/ her choice; for years all they had to do was to join a queue for the course of their choice at the college of their choice on registration day (even medicine). As demand for places exceeded supply increased, the Central Application Office was inaugurated in 1976 and a points system, based on Leaving Certificate performance, was introduced and available places offered in order of merit, with all higher education institutions participating from 1991. Cut-off points for courses were published and only applicants with points in excess of those thresholds received offers of places. The system was seen to be fair, simple and transparent to all applicants regardless of where they lived or their socio-economic backgrounds or connections. For years, the only third-level scholarships available were a small number provided by local authorities. The Local Authority (Higher Education Grant) Act of 1968 provided for grants to be paid to students who reached the specified standard in the Leaving Certificate and whose parents satisfied a means test. Another source of funding was implemented in 1986 with European Social Fund (ESF) grants, which were not subject to a means test, but these were confined to sub-degree programmes. In 1995, Niamh Bhreathnach, Minister for Education, announced the phased abolition of undergraduate third-level fees for full-time students over two academic years, 1995/6 and 1996/7. These developments opened up third-level education to increased participation, but in the early part of the twentieth-first century it was still dominated by young people from the higher socio-economic groups of society.

The Leaving Certificate was introduced in 1924 as a general education award, but as demand for higher education increased in recent decades it became an entrance examination for third-level. It came to be dominated by the race for points, with schools judged by the number of students progressing to third-level. It has resulted in some students going to higher education without giving much attention to their interest, motivation or capacity for a particular programme. They just did what was expected. This led to high attrition in many courses in year one, with big costs for the students concerned and for the system. Some find the change to third-level difficult, especially managing their freedom and coping with-self-directed learning. Some school-leavers prefer alternative routes like apprenticeship and further education. However, in Ireland the apprenticeship route has been confined to about 25 trades in the construction sector, which were decimated during the recent recession. Work is underway at present to extend the provision of apprenticeships to include insurance, banking, accounting technician and segments of big industries. In Germany, where youth unemployment is 5 per cent compared to 20 per cent in Ireland, there are over 110 apprenticeship routes with a take-up of over 40 per cent. In Germany, almost every youth is qualified in some trade, specialised activity, or profession. Employment opportunities are good, respected and well remunerated. Many CEOs in German industry come through the apprenticeship route. In Ireland, where there are skill shortages in many areas, there is a need for considerable expansion in the range of apprenticeships and increasing the career focus of the further education sector. Well-designed programmes in apprenticeship and further education can lead not only good terminal awards with a strong vocational orientation, but also to qualifications for progression to suitable higher education courses with appropriate exemptions for those with the knowledge, skills, capacity, interest and ambition to progress. Far more online programmes, with blended learning, could provide progression opportunities for those who want to stay in employment and continue their studies. Such developments can create a wide variety of enriching learning experiences to foster the interest, enthusiasm, engagement, and ambition of all young people to reach the potential of their talents by many different routes.

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish is now on sale in the USA and UK as a paperback book at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or Barnes and Noble

It is also available as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).