How we teach our children: Third level is not for everyone but there are a number of alternatives

Alternative routes to training and careers can no longer be a Cinderella service, writes Education Correspondent Niall Murray

THERE’S a €600m hole in the budgets needed for third-level colleges to maintain standards. An expert report last year told us this is the minimum amount need to allow colleges keep up the quality of education they provide for the students paying to be there.

Some pay the full €3,000 undergraduate student contribution, or have some or all of it paid for them by taxpayers through grants agency Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Others are paying much higher postgraduate fees, or have scholarships to attain PhD qualifications.