Govt under fire over student drop-out rate

The Government has been criticised by the main opposition party over figures showing that nearly one in five students drops out of the nation’s universities.

The Government has been criticised by Fine Gael over figures showing that nearly one in five students drops out of the nation’s universities.

Nearly half of half fail to complete courses at the country’s higher education Institutes of Technology, the figures also showed.

Fine Gael party education spokesman Michael Creed said the drop-out level was costing the exchequer more than £40m a year.

Most students leaving courses before completion were in the computer studies, science and engineering sectors, according to the latest figures from the Department of Education.

Mr Creed said the Government and Education Minister Michael Woods, had ‘‘continuously failed’’ to address the problem by simply ‘‘throwing money’’ at it.

Debt was increasingly forcing youngsters out of higher education, he went on.

‘‘The average non-completion rate for all first-time entrants to university undergraduate courses is 16.8%. That figure rises to an alarming 42 .61% for the Institutes of Technology,’’ he said.

‘‘The reasons for such a high drop-out rate need to be examined urgently.

‘‘Funding for career guidance services at second level must be significantly increased with a minimum of one career guidance teacher per school.

‘‘This minister is now presiding over a lost generation of graduates. It is especially worrying for an economy so reliant on science and information technology that the majority of drop-outs come from this sector,’’ he said.

But Minister Woods said last week in an answer in the Dail, that the Higher Education Authority had ploughed £400,000 into universities specifically to improve retention rates.

More money was on the way, he said, adding: ‘‘The measures funded include development of mentoring and study skills programmes, counselling services for new entrants and information packs for schools.

‘‘Other initiatives developed by universities include orientation programmes, counselling services, life skills modules and the appointment of academic counsellors, access officers, school liaison officers and mature student officers.’’

He added: ‘‘In the Institute of Technology sector, the Council of Directors has established a National Committee on Retention from each institute to focus on maximising success rates for students.’’