Student loans for higher fees encourages elitism in education

Every third level college in Ireland keeps the points for a number of their courses artificially high, with the points system nothing more than a rationing process, writes Fergus Finlay.

THERE’S 80,000 of you out there. I hope by now you’re happy, or reasonably happy. Most of you have spent the last two years working as hard as you possibly can to get a decent Leaving Cert, and a good number of you are mature students, giving it another go. On last night’s news, there were loads of shots of smiling happy faces. A few tears, but in the main, it seemed, most of you got what you wanted. Or as close as dammit anyway.

All I can say is bloody well done. I know if I were trying to do what you have done now — even as a more than mature student — I’d be really struggling. In my day, we didn’t have the work ethos you have — and we didn’t need it. We had to attain a minimum standard, and once we got there, we were on our way.