10,000 more third-level freshers than decade ago

The number of students beginning higher-level college degrees has jumped by over 10,000 in a decade, figures from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) show.

But the 40% jump to 35,248 — reflecting a major increase in overall numbers going to third-level — masks inequalities that are also evident in 2014 feeder schools information published in today’s Irish Examiner.

Only 10 of the 29 schools that sent most students to University College Dublin, the country’s biggest third-level college, are in the free education scheme, with the rest either fee-paying schools or private institutions. These private and fee-charging schools are also prominent in some other counties, but particularly in Dublin where differences in college attendance rates between areas within the capital have previously been highlighted.