College points system could be replaced by 2020

THE points system for selecting students for college could be replaced by the end of the decade under reform plans being initiated by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.

Although he acknowledged the fairness of the system operated through the Central Applications Office (CAO), he said it needs to be reviewed as it is designed around the dominant needs of full-time school-leaver entrants.

Almost one-in-three of the 45,000 college places filled through the CAO annually are students who did not sit the Leaving Certificate that year, with a significant rise in numbers applying as mature students or based on further education qualifications.