Plan for third-level access in doubt over €500m cost

AN INVESTMENT of up to €500 million per year will be needed from the Government if it is to meet the target of more than seven in 10 Leaving Cert students going on to further education by 2020.

However, doubts have already emerged about the necessary money being available after a new access to higher education plan was launched by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe on the same day he ordered third-level institutions and VECs to slash their payroll costs by 3% as part of the Government’s cutbacks.

Improving the level of Leaving Certs going on to third level from the current 55% to 72% is necessary for Ireland to develop a competitive knowledge economy, according to the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which put together the plan aimed at improving participation rates in further education.

The initiative for meeting new targets includes provision for more routes into adult education, more part-time and flexible courses and improved supports for students.

Ireland has had just “limited success” to date in promoting lifelong learning, according to the HEA, with just 7% of adults taking part in a lifelong learning programme in 2004. The EU average is 10% while Scandinavian countries average between 25% and 36%.

If the HEA’s plan comes to fruition, mature students will comprise at least 20% of all full-time entrants to higher education by 2013, compared to the most recent figure of 13%, while the number of people with physical and sensory disabilities who benefit from higher education will double by 2013.

HEA chairman Michael Kelly said Ireland needs to create an environment where higher education becomes a natural decision for all school leavers, regardless of socioeconomic background or disability, and where adults who left the education system early can return to education if they want.

A HEA spokesperson said it will cost between €450m and €500m each year to achieve the goals set out in the plan. “There will need to be a national debate as to where the resourcing of that will come from.”

Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes said that ordering cutbacks in education runs counter to Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s claim that the Government is striving to maintain and build Ireland’s knowledge economy.

“I can’t think of any greater way to damage the ‘knowledge economy’ than by slashing education budgets,” he said.

National adult learning organisation Aontas welcomed the blueprint but said Ireland’s investment in education would need to improve.

At the moment education investment represents 4.7% of GDP, compared with 7.5% in Finland.