Rising college take-up ‘damages standard’

Third-level colleges will have to cater for more than 45,000 additional students every year in just over a decade if current participation rates are maintained, experts have advised.

Colleges have warned in recent years that the growing intake of school-leavers and other students — mainly due to population growth — is impacting on quality of the education they provide.

However, analysis by an expert group — tasked by the Government with recommending the extent to which taxpayers and students should fund higher education — suggests that a 28% enrolment growth is likely if participation continues at current rates.