Disadvantaged students are missing out on college access

Students from fee-paying schools are making far more applications to a college access programme for disabilities than those from the much larger number of disadvantaged schools.

The figures emerge from analysis of applications to the Disability Access Route to Education (Dare) scheme, under which 18 third-level colleges allow students with certain disabilities entry to courses with Leaving Certificate points lower than other entrants. They have to apply separately from their submissions to the CAO and supply a range of supporting documents.

Of 2,161 applicants to Dare in 2010 and 2,531 in 2011, NUI Maynooth’s acting director of access Rose Ryan found that almost one-in-four of those who met the criteria came from students in 55 fee-paying and eight “grind” schools.

Fewer than 11% of eligible applicants came from students at 195 second-level schools identified as disadvantaged in the Department of Education’s Deis (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme.

“In both 2010 and 2011, with only one exception, the top six schools in the context of volume of applications, were all fee-paying schools. Applicants from fee-paying schools are consistently applying to the Dare scheme and these schools make large numbers of Dare applications,” wrote Ms Ryan in a paper for a recent Higher Education Authority conference on third-level access.

Previous studies have indicated there are more students with disabilities concentrated in Deis schools. ESRI research in 2011 for the National Council for Special Education showed children with disabilities are more likely to be found in Deis schools and less likely to be in fee-paying schools.

Ms Ryan said her study suggests the sub-group of students with disabilities who are also socio-economically disadvantaged are considerably more disadvantaged in the context of progression to higher education. She said such students, particularly if they are attending a Deis school, need to be considered as a separate and specific target group for improving higher education access.

Only nine Dare applications in 2010 and 12 in 2011 came from students at special schools, with only four schools represented, and Ms Ryan was surprised to find that not all those applications were deemed eligible.

There were also regional variations, with just four Dare applications in 2011 from Tipperary which has seven Deis second-level schools, and only three applicants were students at any of the five Deis schools in Waterford.

* More details of Dare, and the Hear scheme for college applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, are in today’s Choices for College special report on pages 20 to 22. It features advice on filling your CAO form, financing college, etc.